Dogecoin — the cryptocurrency coin that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has often celebrated — recently saw a spike in value after news broke that Musk has offered to buy Twitter.
Catch up quick: Last week, Musk bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter, becoming Twitter’s largest stakeholder, which I reported for the Deseret News.
- Musk said he would not join Twitter’s board of directors, despite reports that he planned to do so.
- On Thursday, Musk offered to buy Twitter outright for $43 billion.
What he said: “My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” he said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
What’s happening: In the hours after the news, Dogecoin saw a 5.4% rise in value, per Crypto Briefing.
- The coin had a $0.14 to $0.17 increase in value due to “rumors that it could be integrated with the social media platform,” per Crypto Briefing.
- In a previously-deleted post, Musk suggested Dogecoin could be used to pay for Twitter Blue, a paid premium service offered by the company, per CNBC.
The bigger picture: Musk has been a big proponent and champion of Dogecoin for more than a year now.
- Musk’s tweets have created spikes in value for Dogecoin since last year. For example, he has suggested Tesla should accept Dogecoin.
- The meme-based cryptocurrency relies on social media hype to earn value, as I wrote for the Deseret News. Musk’s tweets play a huge role in that.
- “Tweets from Musk and surging interest from a wave of amateur investors fueled a speculative frenzy in the cryptocurrency earlier this year, driving its price higher,” per CNBC.