Coinbase has stirred up controversy in the crypto sphere after sending out an email describing memecoin Pepe (PEPE) as a “hate symbol”. Prominent crypto influencer Borovik.eth shared a screenshot of the email newsletter on Twitter, citing a 2016 decision from the Anti-Defamation League to place the frog-themed character in its database of online hate symbols. This resulted in calls for Coinbase to issue an apology, and users to start deleting their accounts with the crypto exchange.

The hashtag “#deletecoinbase” has become popular on Twitter with more than 14,000 tweets in the last 2 hours. The token has been widely requested by fans of the memecoin, having already been listed on Binance shortly before Coinbase sent out its email. Adding fuel to the fire was Gemini CEO Cameron Winkelvoss, who answered the calls for listing the memecoin, officially listing PEPE on his exchange with a more open-ended description of the new token.

The controversy has caused the value of Pepe to reduce rapidly, with a 10.4% drop in the last 24 hours according to data from CoinGecko. Coinbase have not yet indicated whether or not they have intentions of listing the token, and have yet to comment on the matter.

The incident has once again made the crypto world aware of just how volatile the market is and makes it clearer that these kinds of speculations are not taken lightly by investors. Speculation made by even the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges can have a lasting impact on value, regardless of whether or not it was accurate. It appears that this particular case has called for investors to take a stance, as movements have been made to call out the exchanges’ influence over the community and its decisions.



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