It’s a weird world we live in. A month ago, I was largely uninformed about the internet sensation that is Pepe (pronounced pep-ay). This cartoon frog, a creation of Matt Furie, first graced the world as part of his comic series "Boy’s Club". The series was launched on MySpace in 2005 and offered a depiction of post-college life that garnered a passionate following and popularity within the underground comics scene.

However, a decade later, in 2015, Pepe's image took a dark turn. The character began to be co-opted by the alt-right community, used in racist, anti-Semitic, and other offensive contexts. This rapid perversion of Pepe's image led to its inclusion in the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) database of hate symbols in 2016.

Matt Furie, the creator, was naturally appalled by this. Determined to restore Pepe’s image as "a force for good", Furie collaborated with the ADL. He intended to generate a series of positive Pepe internet memes, which would then be promoted by the ADL through their social media channels. These efforts were launched under the hashtag #SavePepe. Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL's CEO, stated, "Pepe was never intended to be used as a symbol of hate... We are going to work with Matt and his community of artists to reclaim Pepe so that he might be used as a force for good, or at the very least to help educate people about the dangers of prejudice and bigotry"1.

Despite these efforts, the hateful misuse of Pepe's image persisted, and in May 2017, Furie decided to kill off the character in a one-page comic strip for Free Comic Book Day.

Three years later, in 2020, the documentary 'Feels Good Man' was released. This film chronicled Pepe's journey from a beloved comic character to a meme abused by hate groups, and Furie's subsequent struggle to reclaim the character's original, benign intent. The documentary highlighted not just the personal pain endured by Furie, but also the collective grief of the larger Pepe community.

Presently, Pepe is no longer generally viewed as an alt-right hate symbol. A quick investigation would reveal this to anyone interested. Yet in an unexpected turn of events, Coinbase, one of the top exchanges in the world, recently sent an email to their entire customer base stating that Pepe is a hate symbol. In doing so, they overlooked the core issue of misuse of symbols and the importance of addressing and combating hate speech itself.

This email led to a fierce response from the Pepe community. Not only was Coinbase out of step with other exchanges like Gemini and Kraken, which have listed Pepe, but they also caused fear, uncertainty, and doubt within the Pepe community, especially among newcomers. Coinbase quickly acknowledged their mistake and issued a public apology via Twitter, but the damage was done. Despite this, they have still not listed $Pepe to this day.

While we may never unravel the motives behind that email, or fully understand the intentions, it seems evident that the motivations weren't entirely benevolent. The future of Pepe coin is unclear, but witnessing a company I've grown to respect since my entry into the cryptocurrency world behave in such a way is disconcerting. It raises doubts about whether they genuinely prioritize their customers' interests, or if CEO Brian Armstrong is merely a figurehead. We can only hope that these suspicions will be proven wrong.

In the meantime, you’re still able to purchase $ape on their platform. Which is currently under investigation by the SEC, and who’s relative is also well known for being scrutinized because of their racist and Anti-Semitic like traits that revolve around an NFT collection called Bored Ape Yacht Club. Like I said at the beginning, it’s a weird world we live in.

Cheers, Ling

It’s a weird world we live in. A month ago, I was largely uninformed about the internet sensation that is Pepe (pronounced pep-ay). This cartoon frog, a creation of Matt Furie, first graced the world as part of his comic series "Boy’s Club". The series was launched on MySpace in 2005 and offered a depiction of post-college life that garnered a passionate following and popularity within the underground comics scene.

However, a decade later, in 2015, Pepe's image took a dark turn. The character began to be co-opted by the alt-right community, used in racist, anti-Semitic, and other offensive contexts. This rapid perversion of Pepe's image led to its inclusion in the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) database of hate symbols in 2016.

Matt Furie, the creator, was naturally appalled by this. Determined to restore Pepe’s image as "a force for good", Furie collaborated with the ADL. He intended to generate a series of positive Pepe internet memes, which would then be promoted by the ADL through their social media channels. These efforts were launched under the hashtag #SavePepe. Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL's CEO, stated, "Pepe was never intended to be used as a symbol of hate... We are going to work with Matt and his community of artists to reclaim Pepe so that he might be used as a force for good, or at the very least to help educate people about the dangers of prejudice and bigotry"1.

Despite these efforts, the hateful misuse of Pepe's image persisted, and in May 2017, Furie decided to kill off the character in a one-page comic strip for Free Comic Book Day.

Three years later, in 2020, the documentary 'Feels Good Man' was released. This film chronicled Pepe's journey from a beloved comic character to a meme abused by hate groups, and Furie's subsequent struggle to reclaim the character's original, benign intent. The documentary highlighted not just the personal pain endured by Furie, but also the collective grief of the larger Pepe community.

Presently, Pepe is no longer generally viewed as an alt-right hate symbol. A quick investigation would reveal this to anyone interested. Yet in an unexpected turn of events, Coinbase, one of the top exchanges in the world, recently sent an email to their entire customer base stating that Pepe is a hate symbol. In doing so, they overlooked the core issue of misuse of symbols and the importance of addressing and combating hate speech itself.

This email led to a fierce response from the Pepe community. Not only was Coinbase out of step with other exchanges like Gemini and Kraken, which have listed Pepe, but they also caused fear, uncertainty, and doubt within the Pepe community, especially among newcomers. Coinbase quickly acknowledged their mistake and issued a public apology via Twitter, but the damage was done. Despite this, they have still not listed $Pepe to this day.

While we may never unravel the motives behind that email, or fully understand the intentions, it seems evident that the motivations weren't entirely benevolent. The future of Pepe coin is unclear, but witnessing a company I've grown to respect since my entry into the cryptocurrency world behave in such a way is disconcerting. It raises doubts about whether they genuinely prioritize their customers' interests, or if CEO Brian Armstrong is merely a figurehead. We can only hope that these suspicions will be proven wrong.

In the meantime, you’re still able to purchase $ape on their platform. Which is currently under investigation by the SEC, and who’s relative is also well known for being scrutinized because of their racist and Anti-Semitic like traits that revolve around an NFT collection called Bored Ape Yacht Club. Like I said at the beginning, it’s a weird world we live in.

Cheers, Ling