Allegally caught in several memecoin scandals, a 34-year-old mechanical engineer turned pornstar finds herself in hot debate.
Lover of Animals or Opportunity Builder?
Best known as the owner of Peanut the squirrel, Mark Longo developed a reputation as a sympathetic animal activist wrongfully singled out by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). Longo went viral after his house was raided on October 30, 2023 and his cherished animals, Fred the racoon and Peanut the squirrel, were taken and killed.
The sad event sparked an online frenzy that inspired a set of memecoins among the Solana crypto community. Among them, PNUT is currently listed on main bitcoin exchanges including Coinbase and Binance and has an amazing $2.27 billion market capitalisation.
But claims of Longo’s dubious behaviour with regard to memecoins cloud his recently acquired glory.
Memecoins, Litigation, and Shady Enterprises
Longo recently filed Binance a cease-and-desist letter charging the trademark infringement over PNUT listing. Longo has been busy marketing his own Peanut-themed memecoin, Justice for Peanut (JFP), introduced in early December, while publicly fighting big crypto platforms.
Longo started another memecoin in November dubbed JUSTICE, which blockchain analytics tool Bubblemaps identified as a possible “cash grab,” before JFP.
“Mark Longo accused the bitcoin community of profiting off his squirrel’s death, only to launch his own dubious memecoin,” Bubblemaps said. “Evidence suggests a small group or single entity controls associated wallets, raising red flags about the legitimacy of the project.”
The investigation does not stop there. Longo apparently interacted with other animal-themed memecoins, including Ruby and Jewel, named for goats from his animal refuge, even before his current Peanut-themed activities. Some initiatives have been called possible “rug pulls” by critics.
Longo’s vibrant background simply heightens the mystery, from Engineer to “Squirrel Daddy.” Longo, originally from Greenwich, Connecticut, finished with a mechanical engineering degree and then turned to an unusual job in adult entertainment.
Running an OnlyFans account under the moniker “Squirrel Daddy,” Longo used Peanut’s viral popularity to expand his following. His profile image, showing him in tight red boxers under the caption “Peanut’s dad, very kinky player,” has drawn questions.
Longo told the New York Post that he and his wife Daniela paid $800,000 for a 350-acre property close to Elmira, New York, using one month’s earnings from their OnlyFans content.
A brilliant manipulator?
Longo still positions himself as an animal rights victim of government overreach, but his behaviour points to a more deliberate story. Viral popularity, rich explicit material, and a run of divisive memecoins taken together have caused many to doubt his intentions.
“Mark Longo is a known scammer in the crypto community,” stated Theodor von Meme, a member on X (previously Twitter). “He cannot be trusted and profits from tragedies.”
Regarding Peanut’s viral popularity and how it affected his OnlyFans, Longo spoke without hesitation regarding the financial gains. “Did this make great difference for my OnlyFans? True. This is earning a lot of money for me, he said.
Although the narrative of Peanut the squirrel started out as one of heartache and apparent injustice, it has developed into one full of accusations of manipulation and opportunism. Whether Longo is a memecoin genius or a misunderstood animal lover is yet unknown.
Bitcoin.com contacted Mark Longo for comments, but he hadn’t replied by the time this was published.
