What happened?

On Monday, Twitter users were shocked to find the profile picture of the company’s official account had been changed to a picture of the ‘doge’ meme – the mascot of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency. Within a few hours of the change, the price of DOGE began to tick upwards and has risen by more than 23% since the start of the week.

DOGE holders are speculating that Elon might have new plans in store for his continued advocacy for the memecoin. Dogecoin has also enjoyed renewed crypto market optimism in 2023, with a 38% rally since the start of the year.

What began as a joke in 2013, has evolved into one of the most high-profile cryptocurrencies in existence. Over the years, Dogecoin (DOGE) has rocketed to a market cap of around $13.7bn and has consistently high volatility. But in recent years, Elon Musk’s influence over the currency has been in the spotlight.

The eccentric billionaire has integrated the crypto currency into the Tesla store and the SpaceX store, and has been a proponent of the asset for some time now. Since taking over Twitter, Musk’s influence over its price is perhaps more pronounced than ever.

Why now?

Twitter’s less-than-subtle nod to Dogecoin isn’t as randomly timed as some might think. Musk is currently embroiled in a lawsuit seeking an eye watering $258bn in damages, alleging that both himself and his EV company Tesla ran a pyramid scheme to inflate the price of DOGE.

His defense however has asked for the judge to throw the case out, on the basis that Tweeting images related to a cryptocurrency is not unlawful. Tesla has also stated that it has not sold any of its DOGE since it was purchased – which could further weaken the case against the company.