Mark Longo, owner of the popular internet character Peanuts Squirrel, has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
He accused the company of violating his intellectual property rights by using images and stories about Peanut without permission.
The price of Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) remains unchanged despite the legal action
Longo believes that this unauthorized use affects his rights and takes away the unique creativity of his work.
My legal team sued Binance for unauthorized use of my intellectual property, including images and stories featuring my beloved animals. This is the first of many cease and desist letters that will be issued. I am committed to protecting my creative work and sending a clear message: unauthorized use of my intellectual property will not be tolerated,” Longo declare on my X account, Squirrel_Dad.
Despite the legal battle, market reaction was quite muted. The Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) token is only down slightly in value, down 2.10% over the past 24 hours, currently trading at $1.12.
The legal controversy has further heated up the ecosystem of Peanut Coin Memes. Longo has begun promoting its new token, Justice for Peanut (JFP), as “the only real PNUT.” Although the market capitalization initially skyrocketed to 116 million USD earlier this month, JFP has lost more than 95% of its value, currently remaining at 3 million USD.
This lawsuit and Longo’s subsequent launch of Meme Coin coins were controversial. On social networking platforms like X, many community members have expressed skepticism about Longo’s motives, accusing him of taking advantage of the situation for personal gain.
“You’ve done five separate deals and made millions already, and we have all the proof. Everyone knows you are a profiteering scammer,” said one user comment.
Peanut the Squirrel became one of the biggest debate topics in the US Presidential election due to a troubling incident involving Longo and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC). In late October, the agency confiscated Peanut and a raccoon from Longo’s care. Sadly, it was later revealed that Peanut died while in the detention center, leading to a strong public outcry, supported by famous figures like Elon Musk.
Soon after, the cryptocurrency community launched many Meme Coin coins revolving around this squirrel. PNUT, in particular, was listed on Binance on November 11, increasing its importance in the market.
The controversy surrounding Peanut the Squirrel also reflects larger trends in the cryptocurrency market, especially among Meme Coins. PNUT has astonishingly reached a market capitalization of $1 billion in just 11 days since its launch. By comparison, it took Dogecoin (DOGE) 1,487 days to reach the same financial milestone.