In a surprising turn of events, Dogecoin (DOGE) experienced a 30% price surge within minutes after Twitter replaced the social media platform’s blue bird logo with the cryptocurrency’s iconic Shiba Inu dog symbol. The meme coin’s value skyrocketed, reaching as high as 11 cents from around 8 cents before the logo change. This marks the first time Dogecoin’s price surpassed 10 cents since December, according to CoinDesk data.
Elon Musk’s DOGE-Fueled Twitter Makeover
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a known Dogecoin enthusiast, has frequently promoted the meme coin, even suggesting that it may offer better payments functionality than Bitcoin (BTC). In January, the Financial Times reported that Twitter was working on a system to allow payments through the social media platform. Although Musk, as CEO, wanted Twitter to focus primarily on fiat currencies, he also expressed interest in adding cryptocurrencies – a story that previously gave Dogecoin’s price a boost.
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are now speculating whether Musk’s influence played a role in the logo change and the subsequent Dogecoin surge. Approximately an hour after the change, Musk tweeted a cartoon image, which served as his first public comment on the matter.
Musk Faces $258 Billion Lawsuit Over Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme Allegations
In addition to the recent Twitter logo change and Dogecoin price surge, Elon Musk is facing a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit filed by Dogecoin investors. The lawsuit accuses him of running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency. Musk and Tesla Inc’s lawyers submitted a request to a U.S. judge on Friday to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it a “fanciful work of fiction” based on Musk’s “innocuous and often silly tweets” about Dogecoin.
The defense argues that the investors failed to clarify how Musk intended to defraud anyone or what risks he concealed. They claim that statements such as “Dogecoin Rulz” and “no highs, no lows, only Doge” are too vague to support a fraud claim. “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,” Musk’s lawyers said.
Additionally, the lawyers dismissed the investors’ claim that Dogecoin qualified as a security. Evan Spencer, the investors’ lawyer, expressed confidence in the success of their case.
The lawsuit accuses Musk, the world’s second-richest person according to Forbes, of intentionally driving up Dogecoin’s price by more than 36,000% over two years and subsequently letting it crash. Investors claim this generated billions of dollars in profit at the expense of other Dogecoin investors, even though Musk knew the currency lacked intrinsic value.
They also pointed to Musk’s appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” where he portrayed a fictitious financial expert and called Dogecoin “a hustle.” The $258 billion damages figure is triple the estimated decline in Dogecoin’s market value in the 13 months leading up to the lawsuit’s filing.
The Dogecoin Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is also named as a defendant and is seeking the lawsuit’s dismissal. Notably, Musk’s Twitter posts have prompted multiple lawsuits in the past, including one in February where a San Francisco jury found him not liable for a 2018 tweet about Tesla’s financing.
