The bad period that cryptocurrencies have been going through for several months, known as crypto winter, is only a distant memory for a digital currency.
Dogecoin (DOGE), one of the most popular digital currencies, has experienced a historic surge for the past week.
The crypto has become completely detached from other digital currencies. In the past seven days, DOGE has gained over 102%, according to data firm CoinGecko. DOGE prices rose to 14.03 cents on Oct. 30, the highest since April. Prices have come down somewhat and are currently trading at 12 cents.
The market value of Dogecoin went from $8 billion to almost $17 billion in one week. This dramatic rise has allowed DOGE to now overtake tokens like Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL), which belong to decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems, considered the future of finance.
Dogecoin features the image of the Shiba Inu dog as its logo and namesake. It's considered the first of the meme coins, which are inspired by memes or have some humorous characteristic.
It was created in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system as a joke, saying that the coin was making fun of the wild speculation in cryptocurrencies.
Speculations Related to Elon Musk
DOGE is currently the eighth largest digital currency in terms of market value. To better understand its recent surge, it should be noted that the prices of bitcoin (BTC) rose only 6% in seven days, while those of ether (ETH), the second largest digital currency by market value after BTC, gained 19%.
The rise of DOGE coincides with the acquisition of the social network Twitter for $44 billion by Elon Musk, the richest man in the world. Musk finalized the deal on Oct. 27 and is currently busy making initial changes that will put his mark on the platform.
The tech tycoon is one of DOGE's most fervent supporters. Three of his companies accept DOGE as payment for their goods. These are Tesla (TSLA), The Boring Company and SpaceX.
The Boring Company, known for its tunnels, now offers to let consumers and tourists pay for their Loop rides in Las Vegas with Dogecoin. Basically, the firm offers the option to pay with the meme coin when people take a ride using Tesla vehicles on the company’s Las Vegas transit system called Loop. Tesla has a fleet of vehicles in the Loop that are driven by humans.
Investors currently buying DOGE are betting that the cryptocurrency will also gain acceptance on Twitter in the coming months. In April, Musk hinted that DOGE could be used for payments related to Twitter Blue, Twitter's current premium service.
Musk Is a Huge Fan and Supporter
Musk has yet to say anything about DOGE since taking ownership of Twitter. But at the beginning of October, when he launched a limited edition of his very first perfume, he accepted payments in DOGE.
Given that past, it won't be surprising to see cryptocurrency, especially DOGE, being part of his Twitter-related projects.
Last July, Musk said he would personally continue to buy dogecoins despite the struggles of the crypto market which has lost over $2 trillion since its November all-time high of $3 trillion. At the time, Tesla had sold 75% of its bitcoins but the billionaire had said that he had no intention of selling DOGE.
"We have not sold any of our Dogecoin," the tech tycoon said.
