Elon Musk’s Twitter buy might have pushed crypto ‘whales’ to buy huge amounts of Dogecoin

The number of Dogecoin transactions over $100,000 hit 2,440 on Monday, the highest level since Jan. 14, as CoinDesk points out with data from market analytics firm IntoTheBlock.

Transactions above the $100,000 mark act as measure for the activity of “whales,” or large holders, of the meme-inspired cryptocurrency. Whales can include high-net worth individuals, or institutional investors, like hedge funds or banks. 

Once Twitter announced that its board of directors had accepted Musk’s $44 billion buyout offer, the price of Dogecoin surged as much as 27% on Monday, and hit a daily high of 16.5 cents. It has since cooled off, currently trading at around 13 cents.

Though there are many ideas as to what Musk might change about Twitter once he’s in charge, Dogecoin fans might be hoping that Musk will incorporate the cryptocurrency into the social media platform. After all, Musk seemed to suggest in early April that Twitter should potentially allow users to pay for Twitter Blue, the social media’s subscription service, with Dogecoin.

The cryptocurrency community on Twitter has speculated that Musk might ultimately turn Twitter into a decentralized social media platform, or one not controlled by any one entity. But Musk himself hasn’t mentioned this.

Musk’s effect on the price of Dogecoin is nothing new. 

Dogecoin was created as a joke in 2013 by developers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. It is based on the Doge meme, which portrays a Shiba Inu dog. 

Musk began tweeting about Dogecoin in 2019, and has since been an avid supporter of the cryptocurrency. In addition to owning it, he has mentioned working with Dogecoin developers on bettering its network. 

The richest man in the world has said that the meme-inspired cryptocurrency is best suited for transactions and that it’s the “people’s crypto.”