Editing Just a chill guy

**Just a chill guy** (ticker **CHILLGUY**) is a [[Solana]] memecoin based on the "Chill Guy" character drawn by digital artist Phillip Banks. It launched on [[pump.fun]] on 15 November 2024 and reached about $580 million in market cap within a week.[^1][^2]

## Lore
Banks created the character, a dog in a sweater with his hands in his pockets, in October 2023. It resurfaced more than a year later when TikTok users adopted it as a symbol of not caring.[^1] A pseudonymous user, "mrowl", launched the coin on pump.fun.[^1]

The token went from about $10 million to more than $461 million in market cap within ten days, and one early trader reportedly turned $1,000 into more than $1 million.[^3] On 27 November 2024 Binance announced a CHILLGUY perpetual futures contract, when its market cap stood near $534 million.[^4]

In May 2025 CHILLGUY rose 33.6% in a day during a rebound in 2024's viral coins, alongside [[Moo Deng]] and [[Peanut the Squirrel]].[^6]

## Timeline
- 2023-10: Banks creates the character[^1]
- 2024-11-15: coin launches on pump.fun[^1]
- 2024-11-18: Banks says he does not endorse crypto use of his art[^2]
- 2024-11-21: Banks says the character is copyrighted and announces takedowns[^1][^2]
- 2024-11-27: Binance announces CHILLGUY futures[^4]
- 2024-12-24: false plagiarism claim against Banks circulates[^5]

## Controversies
Banks said on 18 November 2024 that he neither endorsed nor consented to the use of his art in crypto.[^2] On 21 November he said the character was legally copyrighted and that he would issue takedowns against for-profit uses, adding that casual use with credit was fine but unauthorised merchandise and "shitcoins" were not.[^1][^3] The coin fell from about $500 million to about $347 million after his posts.[^1] Commentators noted that enforcement against an anonymously launched token would be difficult.[^1][^2]

On 24 December 2024 a Reddit post claimed Banks had copied the character from a Thai children's magazine. Plagiarism Today found the magazine was published after the character went viral and had paid homage to it; CHILLGUY fell at least 20% on the claim. Banks later deactivated his X account after harassment.[^5]

## See also
- [[Gigachad]]
- [[Fwog]]
- [[Ponke]]
- [[Silly Dragon]]
- [[Popcat]]
- [[Mumu]]
- [[Retardio]]

## References
1. [The Chill Guy artist says $300m TikTok memecoin is copyright theft](https://www.dlnews.com/articles/people-culture/chill-guy-artist-says-tiktok-memecoin-is-copyright-theft/), DL News, 2024-11-21
2. [Artist threatens legal action on 'Chill Guy' meme tokens; community responds](https://cointelegraph.com/news/chill-guy-creator-threatens-legal-action-memecoins), Cointelegraph, 2024-11-21
3. [Chill Guy Meme Coin Pumps Another 50% as Creator Fights Back](https://decrypt.co/293362/chill-guy-meme-coin-pumps-another-50-as-creator-fights-back), Decrypt, 2024-11-25
4. [Binance Futures lists CHILLGUY as market cap hits $600M](https://cryptobriefing.com/chillguy-binance-listing-market-cap/), Crypto Briefing, 2024-11-27
5. [The Chill Guy Plagiarism Hoax](https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2024/12/30/the-chill-guy-plagiarism-hoax/), Plagiarism Today, 2024-12-30
6. [Last Year's Viral Meme Coins Are Back From the Dead as Solana and Ethereum Gain](https://decrypt.co/318814/viral-meme-coins-back-dead-solana-ethereum), Decrypt, 2025-05-09
Title
Ticker
Contract checked by reviewers
Chain
Launched
Launchpad
Deployer checked by reviewers
Status
X
Telegram
Website
Also known as