Dogecoin (DOGE), the largest meme cryptocurrency by market capitalization, soared over 25% Monday after Elon Musk replaced Twitter’s blue bird logo with a dog-themed image, sparking fresh enthusiasm in the DOGE community.
Following the changes, dogecoin’s price spiked to an eighteen-week high of $0.1045. Other metrics also witnessed a substantial uplift, with the coin’s daily volume surging over 613% in the past 24 hours to tap $5B, as seen on CoinMarketCap.
Likewise, Dogecoin’s market cap increased by 27% over the same period to tap $14B, surpassing MATIC and Cardano (ADA) to sit in seventh position. Additionally, the unforeseen price spike caught some short traders flatfooted, with over $27 million being liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass.
Musk Changes Twitter Logo
Monday’s action by the self-proclaimed doge-father came as a surprise to many, but it was in fact foreshadowed by his earlier promise to replace Twitter’s logo with a Doge-inspired image, which he made to the chairman of WallStreetBets on Twitter last March before acquiring the platform. In fact, following the changes yesterday, Musk tweeted a screenshot of the conversation, writing, “as promised”.
Following the recent occurrence, there has been an observed surge in the on-chain activity of Dogecoin, with millions of dollars worth of DOGE being transferred between wallets in multiple transactions in the past 24 hours. On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain also highlighted the fifth largest DOGE holder, who transferred 650M DOGE ($61.3M) out after the price of DOGE increased.
Musk’s Dogecoin Lawsuit
Meanwhile, the timing of the decision to change Twitter’s logo to that of a dog could not have been more suspicious, especially considering the ongoing high-stakes lawsuit against Elon Musk, who stands accused of promoting dogecoin in a manner resembling a pyramid scheme.
Last week, Musk’s lawyers requested a Manhattan court to throw out a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit by some investors who accused him of running a pyramid scheme using Dogecoin, alongside accusations of wire fraud and gambling.
“The Complaint is a fanciful work of fiction that fails to state any actionable claim against Defendants Elon Musk and Tesla and must be dismissed in its entirety with prejudice,” Musk’s lawyers argued during a hearing on a motion to dismiss last Friday.
“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,” they added.
The lawyers also expressed confidence in Musk bagging a win, considering the outspoken billionaire has won similar cases before. At press time, DOGE was trading at $0.1012 after a 26% increase in the past 24 hours.
