The crypto community is spreading the "Chill Guy" meme information, copying the idea from Vietnam, but in reality, that is not the case.
Clarifying the plagiarism of the "Chill Guy" meme idea from Vietnam
The memecoin wave in the second half of 2024 has spawned many names with a market capitalization reaching the Bit level in a short time after launch, including MOODENG, GOAT, PNUT, NEIRO,… Another notable name is CHILLGUY, a memecoin inspired by the famous "Chill Guy" image that went viral on TikTok in mid-November, as reported by Coin68.
At its peak, CHILLGUY reached a market capitalization of nearly 650 million USD and was listed on major exchanges such as Bybit, Kucoin, MEXC, Bitget, gate.io.
The original Chill Guy meme by Phillip Banks
However, the memecoin has been embroiled in a controversy with the artist Phillip Banks, who claims that the cryptocurrency projects using his Chill Guy image are infringing on his copyright and threatens legal action, leading to disputes between him and the crypto community, forcing the artist to delete the original post and leave social media.
Phillip Banks' post threatening to sue over the Chill Guy meme copyright on X, which has now been deleted
On December 24th, the controversy flared up again when rumors spread on social media that the Chill Guy artist had plagiarized his own work, with surprising evidence that it originated from Vietnam. Specifically, the image circulating is the cover of a magazine with a young boy in a "Chill Guy" pose, and a pet dog with a design identical to the Chill Guy meme.
The crypto community has therefore been constantly criticizing Mr. Phillip Banks, continuing to criticize him.
Isn't this Vietnamese, not Thai? pic.twitter.com/eci3kIR4Gm
Reverse image search shows this came from a Vietnamese book 6 years agoThe artist who claimed to have the rights to #chillguy is a fraud Send the #OGchillguy pic.twitter.com/0aODGjVgAP
But the truth turns out to be not like that. According to the account @BehindBlueEye5 on X, the image used as evidence is the cover of the magazine "Hoc Tro Cuoi" issue 52 of 2024, with a series code of 883.
What if I announced the publication date? pic.twitter.com/T4ut2ArQqk
Hoc Tro Cuoi issue 52 of 2024, series code 883
Meanwhile, according to the source from Thieu Nien Tien Phong and Nhi Dong Newspapers, the latest Hoc Tro Cuoi issue being sold online is issue 51 of 2024, with a series code of 882.
Hoc Tro Cuoi issue 51 of 2024, series code 882
Therefore, it can be confirmed that the image used to counter the Chill Guy artist is a Vietnamese school magazine publication, but it was created in the last week of 2024, which is after the Chill Guy meme appeared since October.
Phillip Banks himself also spoke out to refute the accusations from the community, as well as point out that Hoc Tro Cuoi in the past had also used the Mickey Mouse image of Disney.
wait...... hold up..... did disney STEAL mickey mouse from this vietnamese childrens magazine⁉️ guys this is HUGE if TRUE.... pic.twitter.com/goKBpfQIRF
However, the price of CHILLGUY is still affected by unresolved rumors, decreasing 7% compared to 24 hours ago.
CHILLGUY price movement in the last 24 hours, screenshot from CoinGecko at 11:00 AM on December 26, 2024
Compiled by Coin68
