The LINK Marines are the most committed holders and supporters of Chainlink’s LINK token. The group took shape on 4chan’s /biz/ board around 2017. It is known for Pepe the Frog profile pictur
The LINK Marines are the most committed holders and supporters of Chainlink’s LINK token. The group took shape on 4chan’s /biz/ board around 2017. It is known for Pepe the Frog profile pictures, the motto “Didn’t Read, Not Selling,” and a habit of defending Chainlink loudly against critics. Today the community mostly tracks Chainlink’s work with banks and market infrastructure. LINK traded at $12.87 on October 14, 2026.
The community began on /biz/, 4chan’s anonymous business and finance board. In 2017, a figure called “Assblaster” claimed insider knowledge of Chainlink and posted tips there, then disappeared, Decrypt and Cointelegraph reported.
Chainlink and the frog meme soon became linked. “A lot of people that posted about Chainlink would post with Pepe the Frog,” Sanctum CEO Tyler Ward told Cointelegraph. He said Chainlink’s rise became “this cultish prophecy of 4chan.”
Chainlink is an oracle network. An oracle feeds outside data, such as asset prices, into blockchains so smart contracts can use it. The Marines bet early that this would become core infrastructure.
Membership is informal, but the culture has clear habits.
Decrypt’s 2020 profile of the group described these traits:
Co-founder Sergey Nazarov holds the joke title of “Five-Star General.”
The most famous Marine posted under the name ChainLinkGod. In 2020, he described himself as “the glue between Chainlink and the Marines.” He also said: “anyone who says they’re not in it for the money is lying.”
He later revealed himself as Zach Rynes. He now works in Chainlink’s Strategy Initiatives team, according to his X profile.
LINK’s 2020 rally put the community in the spotlight. The token rose from $1.80 at the start of that year to $16.64 on August 12, 2020.
That summer, short-seller Zeus Capital published “The Chainlink Fraud Exposed.” It called Chainlink “Crypto’s Wirecard” and disclosed that it was betting against LINK. A second Zeus report on August 6, 2020, claimed the Marines were paid supporters who coordinated attacks on critics.
The Marines pushed back hard. They accused Zeus of working with Nexo, a Chainlink partner at the time, which Nexo denied. Decrypt also reported that critics, including a Nexo researcher, were harassed online. The episode left the Marines with a reputation for both loyalty and aggression.
Recent Chainlink news is mostly about traditional finance:
The LINK Marines grew from a 4chan board into one of crypto’s most recognizable fan bases. They are known for frog memes, holding through criticism, and close study of Chainlink’s partnerships. Today they follow a project that runs cross-chain messaging, connects banks to Swift’s ledger, and supplies tools for DTCC’s collateral platform.
