The eighth most valuable cryptocurrency in the world is none other than Dogecoin, the digital currency born out of a simple joke. Thanks to Elon Musk, the token recorded an explosion in its value.
Over the past week, Dogecoin (DOGE) recorded an explosion in its course. The digital currency has soared over 100% in the past seven days. At the time of this writing, a Doge is worth more than 12 cents. The market cap of the token is currently over $16 billion. Dogecoin thus rose to eighth place in the cryptocurrency market, ahead of solid crypto-assets like Cardano and Solana.
As a reminder, Dogecoin is the first “corner meme” in the history of cryptos. A “coin meme” is a cryptocurrency born out of a popular internet joke or meme. In this case, the creators of Dogecoin chose the Shiba Inu, the dog of a famous meme, as a symbol. It is not a serious project, unlike tokens like BNB, Ether or Avalanche.
Twitter takeover boosts Dogecoin price
Last week, Doge took full advantage of the general cryptocurrency rebound. Indeed, the market picked up again at the end of October, driven by the rise of Bitcoin and Ether. After weeks of decline, King Bitcoin is back above $20,000, but that’s not the only factor behind the Doge’s price explosion.
The rise of Dogecoin was mainly caused by the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk. Ahead of the acquisition, many investors apparently bet on the token to generate profits by betting on a short-term increase. Traders and investors believe that the new boss of Twitter could integrate the Dogecoin blockchain into the social network.
Read also: This crypto investor accuses Elon Musk of having made him lose money
Dogecoin, Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency
In recent years, Elon Musk has had fun pushing up the price of Dogecoin several times. By posting messages on his Twitter account, he transformed the price of the token into a real roller coaster. During last year’s bull run, the Doge even reached records under the impulse of the billionaire. Dogecoin quickly became Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency in the eyes of observers.
The billionaire even decided to accept the digital currency as means of payment within the Tesla online store. It is indeed possible to buy accessories from the brand by paying with Doge. In the future, Tesla drivers could even pay with Dogecoin at a charging station.
Elon Musk has repeatedly hinted that Dogecoin could be an asset to Twitter. Last April, he notably imagined that the Twitter Blue subscription, which provides access to premium features, can be paid for with Doge. Other paid options, such as account verification, could be paid for with cryptocurrency.
Maybe even an option to pay in Doge?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 10, 2022
By conversing with Billy Markusone of the co-creators of the cryptocurrency, he even believed that Dogecoin could be used for fight against spam and fake accounts on Twitter. The digital currency would then be used to compensate Internet users who take the time to report a message as spam.
Since taking over Twitter, Elon Musk has not mentioned Dogecoin in his tweets. On the other hand, the businessman has several times responded to humorous tweets from Billy Markus, better known under the pseudonym of Shibetoshi Nakamoto on Twitter.