How a Viral Pet Squirrel’s Death Sparked a $53.8M Token Controversy

Isha Jane
By Isha Jane Add a Comment
7 Min Read
How a Viral Pet Squirrel’s Death Sparked a $53.8M Token Controversy

The family of Peanut, the pet squirrel who was recently brutally euthanized, has reportedly created a new cryptocurrency called Justice for Pnut and Fred or JUSTICE. Mark Longo, the pet squirrel owner, said that his new token would be named in honour of his pets and accused the crypto community of profiting from his suffering.

Pet squirrel

On the 25th of November, 2024, Mark Longo, shed tears in a Twitter video shedding light on why he decided to develop a Solana-based token. He said, “The government’s not gonna get away with this. It has to be done for Fred and Peanut, for all people who have died innocent. The team will demonstrate to the entire world that it is wrong to intrude into other people’s businesses.”

The coming of JUSTICE has brought mixed reactions by residents with some acclaiming him for the gesture as others considering it a monetary exploitation of a well-meaning event.

A Viral Tragedy and A New Token

The downcast narration of Peanut the pet squirrel started on the 30th of October 2024, where the New York State of environment officers conducted a search on Longo home in Pine City. Percival and other members claimed the laws prohibiting people from keeping wild animals as pets, they arrested Peanut and a raccoon called Fred. The animals were later on put to sleep after being suspected to cause rabies disease.

Peanut or ‘P’Nut’ as followers knew him, was a popular socialite and a pet squirrel with over 500,000 followers. Longo uses the torture meted out to him by the policemen to stage a devastating situation that leads him to form JUSTICE.

Pet squirrel
Pet squirrel

“The crypto world has made a business out of my tragedy,” said Longo. He criticized other meme-based coins such as PNUT and FRED that came onto the scene after the story broke.

JUSTICE is created on Pump.fun, a DeFi meme coin site and already holds a market capitalization of $53.8 million as per Solscan. It currently has more than 14,000 holders of such tokens. However, the PNUT coin devoted group of clients has protested, stating that Longo indeed received $50,000 in the donation pool, which he cashed in immediately following the event.

The Rise of Meme Coins After Peanut’s The Pet Squirrel Death

Peanut’s the Pet Squirrel ultimate passing didn’t only cause outrage but inspired hopeful meme coins in the form of PNUT and FRED as well. All these tokens experienced high trading volumes early in November, driven largely by public opinion and tweets from ordinary people as well as personalities such as Elon Musk.

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Musk himself called the situation “messed up” in a post that went viral, despite the fact that the value of the PNUT coin boomed to reach a trading volume of $150 million within days. Recommendations by enthusiasts of liberty often state that these coins educated people on the issue of government oversteps, although opponents state that such coins take advantage of sentiments without offering real-world solutions.

Pet squirrel
Pet squirrel

For this reason, JUSTICE has endeavoured to establish a difference between these coins. Longo has expressed that it is “the ONLY coin I will be associated with as long as I live!” However, critics are dubious whether he intends the token to be a bona fide tribute or merely an advert for his cotton story as another scheme to make money from his fame.

The crypto community continues to be polarized regarding Longo’s claims and the launch of JUSTICE. Some people agree with Longo on the fact that he has every right to take charge of the narrative on his pets. Some, on the other hand, do not trust motives of the man behind this token, because it took a very short time to launch it.

Legal experts note that the situation highlights a recurring issue in the cryptocurrency space: the use of low grade events that are likely to cause emotional reactions to elicit commercial benefits. Other similar cases like Chilling effect lawsuit CHILLGUY token case also point out that the meme coins are rather an increasingly sensitive issue in legal as well as sociological terms.

The story also was a reminder that meme coins that tend to be greatly influenced by public emotions are not a joke. Whether or not JUSTICE will fulfil its intended purpose or wash out like other meme coins remains to be seen.

Conclusion: A Divisive Legacy of Pet Squirrel

Mark Longo’s release of the new JUSTICE token has sparked renewed controversy over the ethics of cryptocurrency. While some people interpret such a sculpture as the commemorating Peanut and Fred, others consider it as vulgarisation of a tragedy.

Proof of this is the fact that JUSTICE’s market capitalization currently stands at $53.8 million it has an ever-expanding holder base. That said, it remains to be seen whether Donald Trump’s business will overcome its initial association with division and actually provide people with what they want.

For now, the world watches Longo attempt to pay respect to his beloved pets as well as fight a crypto community he insists took advantage of his sorrow. Keep following TheBITJournal and keep an eye on the next update on Peanut the pet squirrel coin.

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