Elon Musk's Shiba Inu dog is not just another pet -- it is capable of taking the crypto markets by storm.
In a tweet on February 15, Musk introduced his pet as the "new CEO of Twitter", posting a photo of the dog occupying the boss's chair.
"He is much better than that other guy," Musk wrote, apparently mocking himself.
While internet users fawned over the adorable dog dressed perfectly for its role, something else happened.
The new CEO of Twitter is amazing pic.twitter.com/yBqWFUDIQHRelated stories
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 15, 2023
The price of memecoins -- cryptocurrencies created as a joke -- rose, Forbes magazine reported.
Elon Musk reveals Twitter's 'new CEO': 'So much better than that other guy'
Just within 15 minutes of the tweet, the popular cryptocurrency Dogecoin rose five percent. The face of Dogecoin is a shiba inu named Kabosu.Nearly $500 million was added to its market cap, according to CoinMarketCap, an authority on crypto-related data.
Another memecoin, Floki, soared nearly 50 percent in an hour.
This is not the first time a tweet from Musk has sent crypto prices flying.
Dogecoin's value had jumped over 26 percent in January last year after Musk tweeted that the token could be used to buy Tesla merchandise.
Dogecoin value jumps after Elon Musk tweets it can be used to buy Tesla merchandise
Musk, who owns Tesla, is currently also the Twitter CEO. His tenure has been marked by several controversies -- mass layoffs and Twitter policy changes.
He had hosted a Twitter poll last year, where a majority of users voted for him to step down as CEO.
But Musk hopes to continue being at the helm of Twitter for the whole of 2023.
"I need to stabilise the organisation and make sure it's in a healthy place and that the product roadmap is clearly laid out," he was quoted as saying by AFP at the World Government Summit in Dubai. "I think it should be in a stable position around the end of this year."
"I'm guessing probably towards the end of this year should be good timing to find someone else to run the company," he added.
(With inputs from AFP)
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