Dogecoin price spikes after Elon Musk changes Twitter logo to the Shiba Inu dog

By Ayana Archie

Published April 4, 2023 at 3:27 AM EDT

Richard Drew

This mobile phone app screen shot shows the logo for Dogecoin, in New York, Tuesday, April 20, 2021. The recent trading frenzy over a digital token called Shiba Inu — commonly billed as a "meme" or joke coin — has vaulted the canine-themed cryptocurrency into the top ten most valuable digital assets by market value, hitting $40 billion and surpassing its cousin and apparent inspiration, Dogecoin.

The price for cryptocurrency Dogecoin spiked by about 30% Monday after Twitter CEO Elon Musk changed the app logo from its blue bird to a Shiba Inu dog, a symbol often associated with the coin.

Dogecoin, founded in 2013, has gained popularity in the last couple of years. There was a concerted movement to get the coin to $1, which has not yet happened. Shortly after 11 p.m. Monday, the coin was valued at about 1 cent.

The sudden logo change is a callback to when a Twitter user suggested Musk buy the company and change the logo.

"Is a new platform needed?" he tweeted.

"Just buy Twitter," one user said. "And change the bird logo to a doge."

"Haha that would [be] sickkk," Musk said.

On Monday, Musk posted a screenshot of the interaction and said, "As promised."

He is currently facing a $258 billion class-action lawsuit in federal court, where he is accused of engaging in a pyramid scheme by promoting the cryptocurrency. Musk often voiced his support for the coin and was even nicknamed "The Dogefather."

Corrected: April 4, 2023 at 12:00 AM EDT

A previous version of a homepage and web summary for this story incorrectly said Elon Musk is facing a $258 million class-action lawsuit. In fact, it's $258 billion.