Peanut the Squirrel, the viral meme coin, has been featured on Coinbase’s 15-second Apple Pay tutorial video, leading to speculations that a PNUT Coinbase listing might be on the horizon.
In the final seconds of the video, the iPhone screen showcases the meme coin Peanut the Squirrel(PNUT), a token that is currently unavailable on Coinbase listings. Yet on the exchange’s new Apply Pay tutorial, the token is featured as number one on its trending list and placed under the spotlight tag.
Moreover, the last clip in the tutorial reveals a PNUT price page with its glowing green chart hiking upwards. Many traders on X were quick to notice this little easter egg and took it as a sign that the viral squirrel-themed meme coin could be coming to Coinbase.
“List coinbase soon. Pnut 30B$ 50B$,” said one user in the comments section.
“Big win for $pnut but don’t sleeep, 24 hour left in our drop,” said another user.
According to data from crypto.news, PNUT has gone up by nearly 12% in the past 24 hours. In the past week, the token has soared by 11.3% and by 981.41% in the past month. PNUT currently has a market cap of $1.2 billion and a fully diluted valuation of the same value.
Another meme coin that traders noticed was featured prominently in the video is PNUT’s sibling token first convicted raccoon or FRED(FRED), named after Fred the raccoon that was also confiscated along with Peanut from a rural New York home by officials.
“The possibility of #Fred being listed on Coinbase excites me more. If Moodeng is listed, #Fred is not a dream,” said one eagle-eyed trader.
On Dec. 2, crypto exchange Coinbase announced the launch of its Apply Pay option for fiat-to-crypto purchases through Coinbase Onramp.
The announcement featured a brief tutorial video showcasing an iPhone interface where users can use Apple Pay to make crypto purchases possible. Though, the video’s link remains “unlisted” under the official Coinbase YouTube account at the time of writing.
The tragic origins of PNUT and FRED
Launched in November, PNUT and FRED are both Solana-based meme coins that pay tribute to the viral internet animal pair, a squirrel named Peanut and a raccoon named Fred.
Peanut was rescued from a car accident by Mark Longo, who ran an Instagram account depicting the life of Peanut and Fred. But the animals met a tragic end when they were confiscated by the New York City Department of Environmental Conservation from Longo’s home in New York, citing anonymous complaints.
Peanut and Fred died after they were allegedly euthanized by officials. The incident caused public outcry, especially among animal rights activists and ordinary people, including Elon Musk, who saw the squirrel as emblematic of unnecessary government overreach.
The crypto community immortalized the two iconic internet animals by creating meme coins named after them.