Dogecoin Surges 20% as Doge Replaces Bird Logo on Twitter

The price of Dogecoin rallied on Monday after the token’s mascot was included in a peculiar reference on Twitter.

Users visiting the website were greeted with the Shiba Inu internet meme that the token is based around, instead of the social media website’s typical blue bird logo.

The inclusion of Dogecoin’s mascot caused the token’s price to surge as people became aware of the reference. Dogecoin rose over 20% to around $0.092 on Monday in less than an hour, notching its highest price in over a month, according to CoinGecko. The price has nudged even higher since, currently sitting around $0.095.

When asked for a comment regarding the mascot’s inclusion, Twitter responded to Decrypt with a poop emoji. Shortly after the change was made, Musk tweeted the image below, apparently acknowledging the buzz around the move.

On Friday, Musk asked a Manhattan judge to throw out a $258 billion lawsuit in which he and his electric car company Tesla are accused of running a pyramid scheme to support the price of Dogecoin. Lawyers for Musk and Tesla billed the lawsuit a "fanciful work of fiction."

“There is nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion,” the filing reads. “This court should put a stop to plaintiffs’ fantasy and dismiss the complaint.”

The appearance of the Dogecoin mascot on Twitter represents the latest chapter in a long-running relationship between Twitter CEO Elon Musk and the canine-themed cryptocurrency.

Tesla has admitted to holding Dogecoin as well as Bitcoin in the past. Though the company parted with 75% of its Bitcoin holdings last year, the CEO said during an earnings call, “We have not sold any of our Dogecoin; we still have it."

After Musk acquired Twitter last year, speculation mounted that Dogecoin could be integrated into the social media platform as a form of payment as Musk seeks to reimagine the company. In January, it was reported that the company was building a payments product in a way that was supportive of crypto payments.

Musk’s companies have adopted the token as a form of payment in the past. Last May, Tesla and SpaceX began accepting Dogecoin for purchasing merchandise.

Months later, Musk tweeted that he’s “supporting Doge wherever possible,” after his Boring Company infrastructure and tunneling firm committed to accepting Dogecoin as a payment method for using its Vegas Loop transit system.

Musk’s sway over Dogecoin can be traced back to when he first referenced the token publicly on Twitter in 2019, stating "Dogecoin may be my fav cryptocurrency."

The fervor surrounding Dogecoin reached a climax in May 2021 leading up to Musk’s appearance on the late-night comedy show “Saturday Night Live.” The token climbed as high as $0.73, according to CoinGecko.

However, the price of Dogecoin plummeted after the appearance, during which he was pressed by cast members on whether the cryptocurrency was a “hustle.” The token shed 20% of its value in a single hour and remains 87% down from its all-time high today.

Still, Dogecoin remains the 8th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a total value of over $13 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Editor's note: This article was updated after publication with additional information and context.