Why the shiba inu ‘doge’ is center stage on Elon Musk’s Twitter
Doge #Doge
On Monday, Twitter’s blue bird icon disappeared from the top of its website, replaced by the head of an enigmatic-looking shiba inu dog.
But it’s no ordinary shiba inu. Rather, it portrays “doge” — a meme that has come to represent a cryptocurrency with which Elon Musk, the billionaire who bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, has had a long and complicated history.
As doge graced Musk’s social media site on Monday afternoon, the price of dogecoin shot up more than 15 percent.
Here’s what we know about dogecoin and why its icon is featured on Twitter.
What is dogecoin?
Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency — specifically a “memecoin” — that was invented for laughs. It was inspired by a popular meme “doge,” which features a shiba inu in various absurd circumstances — and in various forms.
At its peak in May 2021, the coin traded close to 70 cents before falling to less than 6 cents. Even after Monday’s surge, the coin was trading just above 9 cents. Despite its individual units being close to worthless, some investors amassed the coin in such volumes that they gained small fortunes whenever the coin saw spikes in value.
What is Elon Musk’s relationship to dogecoin?
Musk has long boosted dogecoin, at one point referring to himself as “Dogefather.” In 2021, he detailed plans to launch a satellite named “Doge-1” to the moon — a mission he said would be funded by dogecoin.
In January 2022, Musk announced that certain Tesla merchandise could be purchased using the coin. Months later, he disclosed that Tesla owned dogecoin.
Before Musk hosted “Saturday Night Live” in May 2021, he tweeted “The Dogefather SNL May 8.” During the appearance, Musk said during his monologue that his mother would get dogecoin for Mother’s Day. He also said during one sketch that dogecoin was a “hustle.”
Because Musk’s pronouncements about dogecoin until then had coincided with price spikes, analysts predicted the television appearance would send the coin’s price surging. But the coin’s price sank in the hours after the show aired.
Why is doge on Twitter now?
Musk has not explained why the Twitter home button is now a doge image. But in recent days, news broke that Musk and his lawyers are seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by dogecoin investors who claim that the Musk drove up the cryptocurrency’s price and then let it crash, according to Reuters. The lawsuit cites Musk’s “hustle” remark on SNL.
The plaintiffs are demanding $258 billion in damages, as Musk’s lawyers argue the lawsuit is a “fanciful work of fiction.”
On Monday, Musk tweeted a meme referencing the icon change but offered no clues about the reason.