The Creator’s Stance

Carlos Ramirez, the creator of the enduring internet meme Trollface and known online as Whynne, has publicly rejected offers of token supply for meme coins based on his creation. In his first interview in a decade, Ramirez stated he is “constantly” approached with such offers but views monetization of the meme this way as a “cursed proposition.”

His reasoning: selling large quantities would crash the token price, causing financial ruin for investors, which he explicitly states he avoids being responsible for. “The money means nothing to me if I can’t sell it, but if I sell it, I crash the coin. And frankly, I do not want to be responsible for other people’s financial ruin,” Ramirez told Decrypt.

Meme Coin Mania and Muddled Intentions

Despite the Troll meme coin’s recent meteoric rise—more than quadrupling its market cap in two weeks, surpassing $184 million valuation and climbing into the top 32 meme coins on CoinGecko—Ramirez shows no interest in involvement. This applies even after being informed that the token deployer earned over $64,000 via his (Ramirez’s) creator revenue share.

“I’d prefer to never interact with such people. I know them too well. They aren’t interested in creating anything of value,” Ramirez stated. “It’s nothing personal. I just want to create art. I’m all for crypto as a technology… But the idea of crypto art just diminishes the art aspect. Too much profit motive for the expression to be genuine.”

He further criticized the apparent desire to cash in, calling projects they mint as “nothing but copies.” “I didn’t ask them to mint like 30 different Troll tokens on Bags. People just want to make money on my name.”

Legal Standing and Ambiguous Past Actions

Ramirez holds a U.S. Copyright registration for Trollface (filed 2010, published 2011), a fact emphasized by IP attorney Eliana Torres. Torres stated this registration grants Ramirez full rights of reproduction, licensing, and enforcement, and gives him a strong basis to claim copyright infringement if such projects use Trollface without license, potentially allowing for takedowns, damages, and injunctions.

Yet, Ramirez dismisses legal action entirely. “I’m not going to do anything,” he told Decrypt. “I endorse nothing and I will interfere with nothing. They can do what they want.”

His stance appears contradictory to his own recent actions, specifically April posts promoting a rival (deleted) “official artist-backed” Troll token that briefly reached a $14 million market cap. While speculating this may have been a hack, Ramirez distanced himself: “You could say that. But I don’t really want to speak on it. I have no relationship with any Trollcoin developers.” When pressed about being hacked, he evaded the question, stating, “If I said I was, would it matter?”

Further complicating his position, Ramirez later promoted another rival Troll meme coin created via Bags—a platform designed to share trading fees. This promotion caused a sharp spike followed by a dramatic crash (97%) within an hour.

Historical Context and Future Focus

Though integral to the meme’s history and copyright holder, Ramirez’s direct income from Trollface has diminished since its peak hype years. Torres noted the viral nature doesn’t negate his legal rights. Ramirez shared that initial licensing yielded over $100,000 but suggested payouts decreased afterward.

Looking forward, Ramirez focuses on original projects: “I have other original characters and ideas that I’d like to bring to life.” Desiring anonymity with these projects (due to fear of them being tokenized preemptively), Ramirez has shunned promotion. He teases having been developing a new genre video game in secret, with confirmation only set to come (hopefully) from those closest to him rather than from himself.