London Zoo Monkeys Launch Banana Coin Pilot

Peel, trade, repeat.

By Jonathan Reyes – Satirical Policy Writer

From Bananas to Blockchain

The London Zoo is famous for its lions, penguins, and giraffes, but it is the monkeys that steal the show. Crowds gather to watch them leap, chatter, and grab snacks with cheeky precision. But according to viral rumours, these primates have gone digital. The zoo’s monkeys are allegedly part of a new scheme called BananaCoin, a blockchain pilot where every banana tossed into the enclosure mints a token.

A TikTok clip that set the rumour swinging showed a monkey catching a banana as a phone flashed “Transaction confirmed: BananaCoin earned.” The caption read: “Proof of Peel.”

Visitors in Confusion

Instagram reels captured tourists scratching their heads. One student laughed, “I came for biology, not Bitcoin.” Another reel showed children cheering while subtitles read “Consensus achieved: banana validated.”

Street comedians joined in. A parody skit outside the zoo featured a man dressed in a gorilla suit shouting, “Stake your snack!”

Fake or Real?

Polls revealed 62 percent believed the rumour. “Feels real,” one voter said. “The zoo already monetises everything.” Another argued, “Fake, but believable. London would definitely tokenise monkeys.”

That strange mix of plausibility and parody made hashtags like #BananaCoin and #ProofOfPeel trend across social feeds.

Meme Avalanche

Memes multiplied faster than the monkeys themselves. One viral edit showed candlestick charts projected on banana skins. Another depicted monkeys glowing with Ethereum logos while hoarding fruit.

Parody slogans filled TikTok captions:

• “Stake your snack.”
• “Liquidity in lunch.”
• “Proof of banana confirmed.”

Camden Market stalls quickly cashed in, selling tote bags printed with “I mined my monkey.”

Top Comments from the Internet

• “Finally, bananas are more volatile than crypto.”
• “My ape rugged before the peel.”
• “Proof of fruit validated.”

Zoo Responds

Officials denied the rumour, insisting monkeys still receive bananas, not blockchain. But parody press releases circulated anyway. One fake statement read: “Every peel logged on-chain.” Another joked: “Validator consensus required before feeding time.”

Even Parliament was dragged into memes. An edit showed MPs tossing bananas at each other with the caption “Consensus achieved: snack approved.”

Why It Resonates

The rumour resonates because zoos already walk the line between education and entertainment. BananaCoin satirises this balance, mocking how even feeding monkeys could be monetised as a speculative event.

An LSE anthropologist quipped, “BananaCoin parody works because both primates and investors chase rewards in unpredictable markets.” That line itself went viral under looping gifs of monkeys juggling fruit.

Satirical Vision of the Future

Imagine all zoo life tokenised. Penguins launching IceCoin. Lions roaring for PrideTokens. Even tortoises minting SlowChain.

A parody TikTok circulates: a monkey refusing a banana as subtitles flash “Transaction failed: insufficient potassium.” It gained 780,000 views.

Visitor Reactions

Londoners leaned into the satire. One tweeted, “I mined 0.002 BananaCoin just watching the monkeys fight over fruit.” Another TikTok showed tourists chanting “Consensus achieved!” while throwing bananas.

By Sunday, parody posters lined the zoo gates reading “Stake your snack, earn rewards.” Families queued for selfies with the signs.

The Bigger Picture

Behind the laughter lies a critique of modern capitalism. Entertainment is already gamified, monetised, and turned into spectacle. BananaCoin exaggerates this, highlighting how even animal feeding could be packaged as hype.

Cultural critics argue the rumour resonated because it reflects a culture where nothing is too sacred or silly to be financialised.

Conclusion

Whether London Zoo monkeys truly launch BananaCoin doesn’t matter. The rumour has already swung through London’s meme economy, peeling satire into every bite.

So the next time you visit the zoo, don’t just bring a ticket. Bring your wallet app. Because in 2025, even bananas come with gas fees.

By Jonathan Reyes – Satirical Policy Writer
jonathan.reyes@londonews.com