Chillguy Creator Threatens Legal Action as Crypto Trenches Scour TikTok

Election 2024 coverage presented by
Chillguy’s 100,000 token holders aren’t feeling so chill anymore.
Phillip Banks, the meme’s creator, is threatening to issue takedown notices for profit-related assets or applications using the character he created as a spoof meme token that went viral on Crypto Twitter.
“Chill guy has been copyrighted. like, legally. I’ll be issuing takedowns on for-profit related things over the next few days,” Banks said on X. “not like brand accounts using him as a trend, that’s kinda something i dont really care about (i do just ask for credit. or xboxes.). mainly unauthorized merchandise and shitcoins.”
Banks’ legal threats turned down the heat on the CHILLGUY token, whose creator is unkown. It is almost 50% below its Wednesday peak, with the decline strengthened by profit-taking.
Notable Crypto Twitter traders, meanwhile, are asking Banks to post a Solana address for receiving money or tokens — in the hopes of keeping the fun going. It’s not clear whom Banks plans to target.
The meme took Crypto Twitter by storm this week as the parody Solana-based CHILLGUY token rocketed more than 1,000% in a single day, notching up a $500 million market capitalization at Wednesday’s peak.
Chillguy portrays a character unfazed by life’s challenges. It has attracted interest from brands to El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, boosting narratives around the token.
Early backers claimed the memecoin went viral on video content network TikTok, where “normies” — or the general public that doesn’t hold crypto — were supposedly making videos on how to buy the token and how it was on track for higher gains ahead.
That spurred an entire narrative of scouring TikTok for new crypto picks, with speculators hoping to find tokens going viral among normies for short-term trading.
Such memecoins often rise rapidly due to speculation, community hype and social media trends. They are, however, also extremely volatile, with prices driven more by sentiment and marketing than a strong community.
These trends often don’t last long. They can peak quickly due to hype but are prone to rapid declines once the excitement wanes. New memes constantly emerge, diverting attention and investment — leaving investors who bought into the narrative with near-worthless bags.
Edited by Sheldon Reback.
Disclosure
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.
Shaurya is the Deputy Managing Editor for the Data & Tokens team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.