Dogecoin is out of the dog house: Spikes to 9% with Elon Musk acquiring a 9.2% stake in Twitter

Elon Musk, Chief of Tesla, has taken a 9.2% stake in social media company Twitter (TWTR), according to a regulatory filing yesterday.  According to the filing, Musk purchased 73,486,938 of common stock in the social media company. Based on Twitter's last closing price of US$39.31, the stake would be worth US$2.89 billion. The filing lifted Twitter and Dogecoin higher in the stock market

Musk also suggested launching a new social media website that would be fueled by his favorite cryptocurrency– Dogecoin.

Musk's Stirred Up Controversy in the Past via Twitter

In January Elon Musk mentioned that his company will accept dogecoin as payment for merchandise on a test basis, sending the meme-based cryptocurrency up over 20 percent.

"Tesla will make some merch buyable with Doge & see how it goes," Musk said in a tweet. According to a report in Reuters, Dogecoin, popular among retail investors, raced up to US$0.20 after the tweet.

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and a supporter of cryptocurrency, said on Thursday that he has not and will not sell any of his dogecoin holdings.

Earlier in March, during his guest-host spot on the 'Saturday Night Live' comedy sketch TV show, he called the cryptocurrency a "hustle", leading prices to tumble. "Yeah, I haven't & won't sell any Doge," Musk said on Twitter in response to a tweet on Thursday claiming he would never sell any of his doge holdings and that he was the "ultimate holder".

At the end of March, Musk again tweeted that he is giving "serious thought" to building a new social media platform, a day after he put out a poll on Twitter asking users if they believe the social media giant adhered to the principle of free speech. When a follower suggested that Musk buy the company (Twitter) and change the logo from a bird to a Dogecoin, Musk indicated that he likes the idea.

Manipulating the Price of Dogecoin 

Musk has posted numerous comments about cryptocurrencies on Twitter, causing prices to gyrate and all these instances show how the price of Dogecoin is manipulated by Musk's single move. This is nothing but dancing to Musk's tune. Musk is no stranger to sending both traditional and crypto markets into a tizzy with his tweets. His previous comments have sent prices of several meme coins and bitcoin (BTC) skywards.

While it's completely speculative whether Musk tries to flex his newly acquired shareholder muscle on Twitter developers to adopt DOGE as the official crypto of Twitter, it's not beyond the realm of possibility. The billionaire has been a long-time, ardent supporter of DOGE as a legitimate, and preferred form of cryptocurrency payment. 

Wrapping Up 

Dogecoin is already accepted by many companies as a form of payment. Besides Tesla, Petco, Nordstrom, and GameStop are all accepting Dogecoin. Also, it is currently insufficient to trigger substantial gains in cryptocurrency.

Dubbed as the 'internet's tipping currency', if Elon Musk can influence through Twitter by adding Dogecoin as one of the tipping options it may create another bullish wave for the meme coin.

What's the bottom line? Does Musk want to take over Twitter? What is his plan with Dogecoin? Despite the re-hype over Dogecoin the path for the cryptocurrency is still unclear. When firm, bullish spikes take place in the market they tend to follow by some retracement.

Disclaimer: The information posted in the article is for educational purposes only. By using this, you agree that the information does not constitute any investment or financial advice. Do conduct your own research and reach out to financial advisors before making any investment decisions.