Dogecoin rose to $0.20 – a 15% increase in value – after billionaire Elon Musk announced Tesla would accept the cryptocurrency for purchasing merchandise.
The cryptocoin with the shiba inu dog meme originally started as a joke, but Musk’s various tweets about it have helped Dogecoin increase by 5,859% over the past 12 months, according to Coinbase. Tesla’s website started accepting Dogecoin soon after, with items such as an electric quad bike for kids priced at 12,020 doge ($2,368), the “Giga Texas Belt Buckle” for 835 doge ($156), and a whistle for 300 doge ($57).
Elon Musk’s history with Dogecoin
This is just one of many tweets by Musk regarding Dogecoin, the first one coming December 20, 2020 when he tweeted, “One Word: Doge.” Shortly after his tweet, the value of Dogecoin rose by 20%.
Musk followed that post with a barrage of Dogecoin-related tweets in February 2021, including, “Dogecoin is the people’s crypto,” and “no highs, no lows, only Doge”. After these tweets, Dogecoin’s value soared by roughly 40%.
After a full year of showing support for Dogecoin, on December 14 Musk said Tesla would accept the cryptocoin to pay for merch. Dogecoin spiked more than 20% after his tweet.