The owner of the internet celebrity 'Peanut the Squirrel', Mark Longo, has taken legal action against the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
He claims the company used images and narratives of Peanut without permission, infringing on his intellectual property.
Despite facing legal action, the price of Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) has not changed.
Longo claims that this unauthorized use infringes on his rights and undermines the originality of his creative works.
Longo claimed on his X account Squirrel_Dad: 'My legal team has filed a lawsuit against Binance, accusing them of using my intellectual property without authorization, including images and stories themed around my beloved animal. This is the first of many cease-and-desist letters. I am committed to protecting my creative works and sending a clear message: unauthorized use of my intellectual property will not be tolerated.'
Despite the legal dispute, market reactions have been relatively muted. The value of the Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) token has only slightly decreased, with a drop of 2.10% in the past 24 hours, currently trading at $1.12.
This legal dispute has exacerbated the already controversial meme coin ecosystem related to peanuts. Longo has begun promoting his newly launched Justice for Peanut (JFP) token, positioning it as 'the only true PNUT coin'. Despite JFP's market capitalization soaring to $116 million earlier this month, its valuation has since fallen by over 95%, currently standing at $3 million.
This lawsuit and the subsequent meme coin launched by Longo have sparked controversy. On social media platforms like X, community members have expressed skepticism about Longo's motives, accusing him of profiting from the situation.
"You have signed 5 independent contracts and have made millions of dollars; we have all the evidence. Everyone knows you are a person who deceives for value," commented a user.
Due to a disturbing incident between Longo and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), Peanut the Squirrel became one of the most controversial topics during the U.S. presidential election. In late October, the agency confiscated Peanut and a raccoon that Longo was caring for. Unfortunately, it was later reported that Peanut died during detention, provoking strong public protests, with notable figures like Elon Musk supporting the protests.
Subsequently, the crypto community launched many meme coins around the squirrel. Particularly, PNUT was listed on Binance on November 11, making it more relevant in the market.
The controversy surrounding Peanut the Squirrel also reflects a larger trend in the cryptocurrency market, especially with meme coins. PNUT astonishingly reached a market capitalization of $1 billion just 11 days after its launch. In comparison, Dogecoin (DOGE) took 1,487 days to reach the same financial milestone.
