PNUT Memecoin Drops 10% After Legal Warning To Binance
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has received a cease-and-desist letter from Mark Longo, owner of internet celebrity Squirrel Peanuts, over alleged copyright infringement. PNUT, a popular squirrel-inspired meme coin, fell nearly 10% after the news broke.
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Internet Squirrel Becomes Memecoin Sensation
On Sunday, Peanut the Squirrel owner Mark Longo announced that his legal team has taken legal action against cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Longo, known as “Peanut Daddy,” accused the exchange of unauthorized use of his intellectual property in X posts.
The rescued squirrel became an internet sensation after a video of Longo circulated online. viralhas accumulated more than 500,000 followers on Instagram. However, the peanuts were confiscated at Longo’s home along with a rescued raccoon named Fred.
Both animals were euthanized for rabies testing because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not have any approved methods for testing animals for antemortem rabies. After the news came out, the public condemn Several lawmakers criticized the authorities’ actions following Peanut’s death.
It also sparked a wave of Peanuts-inspired meme coins, culminating in the Solana-based meme coin PNUT. Amid the controversy, the token quickly gained popularity, reaching a market capitalization of $120 million in less than a week.
Binance announced the listing of memecoin on November 11 and opened spot trading on the same day. After the news broke, PNUT’s price surged, climbing to the top 10 memecoins by market capitalization.
The coin reaches $1 billion milestone In less than a month, the market cap reached $2.27 billion before retracing. PNUT has remained above the $1 billion mark over the past month, with the price hovering between $1.80 and $1.00.
Cryptocurrency exchanges receive cease-and-desist letters
According to the letter shared by animal rights activists, Binance allegedly violated “intellectual property rights owned by Mr. Longo.” His legal team argued that the exchange violated customers’ “various copyrights and rights” by using a copyrighted photo of Peanut the Squirrel wearing a cowboy hat and the “identical” trademarks “PEANUT THE SQUIRREL and PNUT” in listing the memecoin. trademark”.
request in letter Binance Reply to this letter by December 31YingshiIn 2024, it was verified that the exchange had received the letter and “has ceased all infringing activity.” Additionally, Longo revealed in his post that this was the first of multiple cease-and-desist letters to be sent.
Following the news, PNUT fell 10.2%, falling from $1.17 to support at $1.05 in 24 hours. The retracement brings the coin close to its lowest levels in more than a month, leaving investors worried about the meme coin’s performance.
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Notably, Longo has previously expressed dissatisfaction with the PNUT memecoin, accusing the crypto community of profiting from his late pet. In protest, the animal rights activist launched a meme coin called JUSTICE, which faces controversy over insider trading accusation.
Longo also promoted another meme coin, Peanut Justice (JFP), in his warning post, which rose 159% after the release but then lost all of its recent gains. As of this writing, PNUT is trading at $1.10, with a daily loss of 5.1%.
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com
