Peanut the Squirrel Owner Mark Longo Accuses Binance of Copyright Infringement

The owner of the slain internet sensation Peanut the squirrel is seeking “justice” as he accuses a major cryptocurrency exchange of infringing on copyright material

The owner of Peanut the squirrel is taking legal action against a major cryptocurrency exchange for allegedly infringing on his copyright material.

Mark Longo, who rose to prominence after his pet squirrel Peanut was euthanized by agents searching his home, announced the move in a post on X on Sunday.

“My legal team initiated action against Binance for the unauthorized use of my intellectual property, including images and stories featuring my beloved animals,” Mr. Longo wrote in the post.

“This is the first of multiple cease and desist letters to be issued. I’m committed to protecting my creative work and sending a clear message: unauthorized use of my IP will not be tolerated,” he said. “WE WILL GET JUSTICE.”

A cease and desist letter to Binance, obtained by The Sun, accuses the exchange of “infringing on the intellectual property rights owned by Mr. Longo” by using a picture of Peanut wearing a cowboy hat and the name Peanut the squirrel to identify the PNUT coin.

The letter states that Mr. Longo is the sole owner of the copyright to the image, which was used without his permission.

It also alleges that Binance is using the image of Peanut the squirrel in a way that is “likely to cause confusion” among consumers and “damages Mr. Longo’s reputation.”

Mr. Longo’s lawyers have given Binance until December 31 to respond and confirm that it has ceased using the image of Peanut the squirrel in connection with the PNUT coin.

Representatives for Binance did not respond to The Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Peanut the squirrel became a symbol of government overreach after he was euthanized by agents conducting a search of Mr. Longo’s home following anonymous complaints about a potentially unsafe environment.

Prior to the incident, Peanut was a social media sensation with hundreds of thousands of followers as his owner shared videos of him wearing hats or performing tricks. It is illegal to keep wildlife as pets in New York. Mr. Longo said he was applying to get Peanut certified as an educational animal at the time of the fateful search of his house.

The DEC says the squirrel bit one of its agents, a claim Mr. Longo denies, and officials euthanized Peanut and the raccoon named Fred to test them for rabies. Officials later said the animals did not have rabies.

Mr. Longo is also suing New York for the incident, claiming officials did not have the authority to euthanize his pets. He says their deaths will lead to “substantial economic damages” and a loss of donations to his animal sanctuary that was named after Peanut.

As Peanut became a symbol of government overreach, a cryptocurrency was launched in the rodent’s honor: the PNUT coin. In just a couple of weeks, it skyrocketed in popularity and was launched into the top 100 most popular cryptocurrencies. The coin is known as a meme coin, a type of cryptocurrency created by fans of viral memes.

However, the meme coin is controversial as it was not created by Mr. Longo, and he has been fighting to prevent others from capitalizing on the tragic end of Peanut. In response to the PNUT coin’s success, he launched his own cryptocurrency, which he called JUSTICE. His coin surged to a market value of $13 million hours after it launched.

Despite his anger at the creation of the PNUT coin, several cryptocurrency blogs are listing it as one of the best meme coins to buy.

While Mr. Longo is trying to stop Binance from using the image of Peanut with the cowboy hat, another cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, changed the PNUT coin’s logo to a cartoon image of a squirrel.