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The price of Dogecoin shot up nearly 40 percent after Elon Musk, who has famously promoted the joke cryptocurrency on his Twitter, finalized a deal to buy the social media company for $44 billion in cash.
The so-called ‘meme coin’ rose to 16.7 cents after the purchase was announced Monday afternoon, up from 12 cents that morning. Musk had previously floated the idea that users could pay for Twitter’s premium service with the coin.
It is worth about 15 cents as of Tuesday morning.
The cryptocurrency was created as a ‘joke’ in 2013. Its mascot is a Shiba Inu dog.
It was valued at less than one cent at the start of 2021, until the SpaceX founder and others started promoting it on social media, hyping it up and driving up the price.
The billionaire’s mere mention of the coin has caused it to fluctuate. It plunged when he joked about it on air on Saturday Night Live last May. In December, it went up when he said Tesla would accept the coin as payment for merchandise.
Meanwhile, stocks for Twitter and Tesla were down Tuesday morning. Twitter was trading at 1.45 percent lower than its closing position the day before. Tesla was down 6.68 percent.
‘Joke’ cryptocurrency Dogecoin went up by nearly 40 percent after Elon Musk finalized a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion in cash
Musk has repeatedly promoted the cryptocurrency on his social media and on TV appearances, coinciding with a rise in interest in the ‘meme coin’ last year
Last May, Musk played a financial expert trying to explain crypto on SNL’s Weekend Update. He jokingly admitted that Dogecoin was a ‘hustle,’ sending the price down 22 percent
Dogecoin stock went up by more than 15 percent after Musk tweeted that his electric car company, Tesla, will accept Dogecoin for merchandise
Musk and Twitter reached a deal shortly before 3pm Monday afternoon.
The Tesla magnate agreed to pay shareholders $54.20 in cash for each share of common stock before the bombshell deal was struck.
The move shifts control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world’s richest person.
Musk vowed to protect free speech on Twitter, ‘defeat the spam bots’ and ‘authenticate all humans’ as he welcomed the acquisition.
He previously proposed a series of changes to the company’s fledgling premium service.
‘Everyone who signs up for Twitter Blue (ie pays $3/month) should get an authentication checkmark,’ he tweeted.
‘Price should probably be ~$2/month, but paid 12 months up front & account doesn’t get checkmark for 60 days (watch for CC chargebacks) & suspended with no refund if used for scam/spam,’ he said.
‘And no ads. The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive,’ he added.
‘Maybe even an option to pay in Doge?’
Some Twitter users are worried about the future of the company at the hands of Musk, who is known to use the platform to post inflammatory messages and tease his followers, sometimes with the idea of using Dogecoin legitimately.
In January, he tweeted: ‘Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin.’
The stock went up by more than 15 percent that same day, CNBC reports.
Last May, Musk played a financial expert trying to explain crypto on SNL’s Weekend Update segment.
‘They’re a type of digital money but instead of being controlled by a central Government, they’re decentralized using blockchain technology,’ he explained, letting out a nervous giggle.
In a bit about how difficult it is to explain, the segment’s host repeatedly asked him, ‘What is dogecoin?’
‘I keep telling you, it’s a cryptocurrency you can trade for conventional money.’
Dogecoin creator Billy Markus admitted last year that he created the coin as a joke, and that it was ‘amusing’ to see Elon Musk promoting it
‘Oh, so it’s a hustle,’ Michael Che finally said.
‘Yeah, it’s a hustle,’ Musk replied.
The stock dived by 22 percent while the show was airing.
Dogecoin creator Billy Markus told Bloomberg last year that he invented the coin as a joke.
The coin was being traded a lot early last year, reaching a high of 64 cents in May, months after amateur investors managed to send shares of video game retailer GameStop soaring.
Markus cashed in his Dogecoin and abandoned his pet project in 2015.
‘I’m half detached, but it’s weird that something I made in a few hours is now part of internet culture,’ he said. ‘It’s amusing to see Elon Musk talk about it. It feels silly, but there’s this huge upwelling behind it.’
Twitter stock is up by more than 9 percent since April 19, when Musk made his offer to buy the company entirely. Tesla shares, meanwhile, fell by about 0.7 percent in the same time.
Twitter stock is up by more than 9 percent since April 19, when Musk made his offer to buy the company entirely
A New York Times reporter says that an unidentified Twitter employee told him they feel like ‘throwing up’ at the thought of working for Musk
Inside Twitter, employees are reportedly dismayed at the realization that Musk is now their boss.
‘I feel like im going to throw up..I rly don’t wanna work for a company that is owned by Elon Musk,’ one employee told a New York Times reporter.
Some raised concerns about whether Musk, a staunch opponent of labor unions who is worth a reported $266 billion, would push the price of shares down as he seeks to take the company private, hitting employees who are partly paid in stock especially hard.
The unidentified Twitter employee added: ‘I don’t rly know what I’m supposed to do…oh my god, my phone’s been blowing up…We have a meeting about it at 5pm…the CEO is going to address everyone about it
‘I hate him, why does he even want this?
‘I feel like he’s this petulant little boy and that he’s doing this to troll…he doesn’t know anything about our policies and what we do…his statement about our algo was f****** insane…
‘Were just gonna let everyone run amok?…nobody knows.’
Earlier, the 50-year-old tycoon called for his ‘worst critics’ to remain on the platform because ‘that is what free speech means.’
Still, employees are worried about the SpaceX founder’s plans for the company.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal (left) on Monday spoke to employees to try and reassure them. Co-founder Jack Dorsey (right) holds a board seat, but is expected to give it up in May
Musk is known for using Twitter to post inflammatory messages, much like former President Donald Trump.
Parag Agrawal, the CEO, said on Monday that it was up to Musk to decide whether to readmit Trump.
Trump on Monday said he would not be rejoining the site if Musk allowed him to – instead saying he would continue to use his own TRUTH Social.
Some experts are pointing to a tough road ahead for Twitter if Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, gets his way.
‘We expect advertisers will be less willing to spend on Twitter if Elon Musk removes content moderation in order to promote free speech,’ MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson said.
The 16-year old company, which has emerged as one of the world’s most influential online public squares with about over 200 million users, reported $4.51 billion in ad revenue for 2021, accounting for about 89% of its overall sales.
‘The challenge (for Twitter) will be maintaining and building revenue given that the controversial opinions (Musk) hopes to give more of a free rein to are often unpalatable to advertisers,’ Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter said.
Source: Daily Mail
