Elon Musk replaces Twitter bird with Dogecoin logo, triggers 30% surge in its price

When users check their Twitter timeline, they see text on a blue and white template along with the iconic blue bird, but the Doge meme smiling at them is least expected. But after a series of changes like paid blue ticks and blunders leading to outages, Elon Musk has turned the cryptocurrency logo into Twitter's new face.

The move which comes at a time when Musk faces a lawsuit for tweeting about the memecoin, has sent its value soaring by 30 per cent.

Extracting value from social media frenzy

• Dogecoins liquidations have surged to $26 million in 24 hours, and the amount in unsettled future contracts also jumped to $580 million.

• The popular dog which appears in memes, can be seen on the top left corner of the computer screen in place of the blue bird.

• From 7.7 cents or Rs 6.33, the coin went pasr 10 cents or Rs 8.22, and remains one of the leading meme currency.

Turned a joke into real currency

• Modeled after Shiba Inu, Dogecoin was launched as an actual joke on cryptocurrencies in 2013, but gained value with the 2017 surge.

• Thought to be backed by Musk, it was listed on the Binance exchange by 2019, while the billionaire openly endorsed it in 2021.

• It is this support for a meme that turned into an actual cryptocoin, that landed Musk into legal trouble.

• The $258 billion lawsuit, accuses Musk of running a pyramid scheme, where his tweets and media appearance were used to inflate Dogecoin by 36,000 per cent, before letting it fall intentionally.

• Musk's lawyers termed the allegations as a work of fiction based on his random, silly tweets, and asked for a dismissal.

Are any of Musk's tweets mere pranks?

• Days after that, the Dogecoin logo appeared on Twitter homepages, although some are speculating if its a delayed April Fool's prank.

• Past tweets by Musk have also been dugout to suggest that this is about an exchange with another user before he took control of Twitter.

• In the past, Musk has been charged with fraud for false claims about taking Tesla public, which were followed by a surge in the stock.

• He settled with the securities and exchange commission by paying $20 million in fines, but recently won a case where Tesla shareholders demanded damages.

• Although he claimed that his tweets had no impact on Tesla stocks, the social media frenzy triggering a surge for Dogecoin tell a different story.