Not Such a $CHILLGUY After All - Viral Meme Artist Threatens Legal Action

From a legal perspective, does the $CHILLGUY artist have a case against memecoin creators?

Published: Nov 21, 2024 at 14:36

Phillip Banks, the original artist behind the viral $CHILLGUY meme, has sent waves of fear, uncertainty, and doubt throughout Solana’s meme economy.

In the wake of $CHILLGUY’s viral ascension to memecoin dominance, Banks took to social media, threatening legal takedowns against “for-profit related things”. In true memetic fashion, the crypto community rebuked Banks' claims with more memes of their own.

Does Philip Bank’s have a case against the Solana memecoin community?

$CHILLGUY Artist to ‘Issue Takedowns’

Philips Banks, a relatively obscure artist, became a cryptocurrency sensation when one of his characters exploded on TikTok.

$CHILLGUY, a memecoin inspired by the viral trend, exploded in Solana’s thriving meme economy, skyrocketing to a market capitalization of over $500M in just a few days.

Unfortunately for memecoin traders, Banks’ reaction to his newfound fame wasn’t exactly met with rampant enthusiasm. Citing legal copyright, the artist publicly denounced and disapproved its use in “for-profit related things”.

While Banks has adamantly spoken out against the viral memecoin, he outlined that he has no issue with household brands leveraging the image as part of social awareness campaigns.

Undaunted, the crypto community wasted no time making light of Banks’ heavy threats. Social media commentators resoundingly agreed that Banks’ behavior indicated that he’s “not such a chillguy after all”.

Others chastised the artist, arguing that he should be grateful for the newfound fame and celebrity the viral memecoin brought him.

However, memecoin traders and token developers might find themselves needing to take Bank’s threats more seriously.

According to ArtBusiness.com, Banks is authorized to issue a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) Takedown Notice, enforcing infringes to remove copyrighted content from the internet.

Whether or not Banks will be able to completely eradicate $CHILLGUY’s image from the crypto remains to be seen. Viral memes are almost impossible to control once they reach critical mass, and Banks may find the sheer number of people who “profited” off the copyright too great to muzzle effectively.

Crypto Community Sets Up Donation Wallet

In an attempt to show its appreciation towards Banks, the crypto community rallied together to ensure Banks is financially compensated for his character’s success. Demonstrating the industry’s goodfaith, the just a chill guy cto 𝕏 page created a wallet where traders can donate their tokens to the artist.

In the event that Banks declined the donation, the account has pledged to donate collected funds to a charity of Banks’ choice.

donation wallet

At press time, the donation wallet holds over 486k $CHILLGUY and 240 $SOL, with a total value of over $229k as demonstrated by the Step Finance dashboard.

Artist’s Threats Cause -58% Drawdown

If there was once area where Banks’ tweets weren’t appreciated, it was in the charts. $CHILLGUY dropped a staggered 58% immediately following the artist’s posts, erasing almost $300M from its market capitalization as it plummeted back to around $204M in the space of an hour.

Since then, the $CHILLGUY community has rallied around the memecoin, which has bounced back to currently exchange hands at a market cap of approximately $340M.