Dogecoin’s DOGE woes were made clear Thursday afternoon Eastern Time as the value of the meme-inspired cryptocurrency suddenly plummeted by 8% shortly after Twitter reversed its baffling decision to replace its blue bird logo with the token’s iconic Shiba Inu mascot.
DOGE, which recently surged by over 20%, got to as high as $0.1046, is now down to about 9 cents, according to CoinDesk data. The sudden drop, which puzzles crypto traders and Dogecoin holders alike, came just a bit more than an hour after the logo switch. Tesla Inc. chief executive Elon Musk, who has been a vocal supporter of the token and owns Twitter, made his first public comment with a cartoon image – and, as usual, his tweet stirred a frenzy in various Dogecoin online forums.
The drop, however, does not come as a surprise as the whole saga has been a rollercoaster ride for DOGE enthusiasts. As it is often the case with meme coins, their value often mirrors the attention they receive. And these swings in fortunes are of no surprise neither to Bitcoin investors nor those of altcoins.
Dogecoin was created in 2013 by a group of engineers as a humorous jab at Bitcoin, the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency by market share. It is nicknamed the “joke currency,” and many believe that is all it will ever be. Even billionaire investors such as Mark Cuban and Elon Musk, who, of late, have touted Dogecoin as a serious payment option, admit its wild fluctuations, making it hard to invest in it for the longer term.
Elon Musk is the main reason for the recent surge in DOGE’s price. He frequently posts memes about the cryptocurrency on social media and has dubbed himself “The Dogefather.” The cryptic April 3 move to replace the Twitter logo with the Shiba Inu meme unleashed an avalanche of reactions from the crypto-trading world.
The April 3 move was followed by a 35% surge but as soon as the logo change reversed so did DOGE price. DOGE got as high as $0.1046 versus around $0.077 right before the logo change, but now the crypto is back to trading around the 9 cent mark.
With Dogecoin’s turbulent rollercoaster and ever-changing market conditions, it’s hard to say how the infamous meme currency will fair in the future. One thing is for sure, Twitter ditching its logo may just be a sign that Dogecoin struggles are far from over.
