What happened

As of 11:45 a.m. ET, Dogecoin (DOGE -2.18%) is among the leading cryptocurrencies in terms of gains, having surged 25% over the past 24 hours.

This move was reported yesterday, highlighting the chief catalyst driving this meme token higher. Twitter CEO Elon Musk changed the primary logo on his app from the standard blue bird logo to the Shiba Inu dog logo used by Dogecoin. This was followed by a series of tweets highlighting a previous conversation in which Musk claimed that buying the social media platform and changing its logo to Dogecoin's "would [be] sickkk."

This move also comes amid an ongoing lawsuit alleging Musk was involved in racketeering via his involvement in pumping Dogecoin higher. Musk's lawyers have sought to throw out the case, noting that the case "is a fanciful work of fiction that fails to state any actionable claim against Defendants Elon Musk and Tesla and must be dismissed in its entirety with prejudice."

So what

Musk has shown his disdain for the Securities and Exchange Commission in the past, and yesterday's action appears to signal his views haven't changed. Whether anything ultimately comes of this move remains to be seen. His view, and the view of his lawyers, is that continuing a running joke isn't against the law.

That said, it's also clear that Musk's logo change also remains the key driver of Dogecoin's price action. A 25% surge over 24 hours only furthers the argument that the self-proclaimed "Dogefather" has significant sway over this token's price. 

Now what

Dogecoin has given up some of its initial gains and is trading slightly below the token's high, seen around 3 p.m. ET yesterday. However, given that Dogecoin has held most of its gains from yesterday's surge, this rally could have momentum. 

It's unclear whether Musk profited off of this gimmick, or if he owns any Dogecoin (he has said he does, though not how much). That said, his support for the Dogecoin community appears to remain intact, something crypto investors and speculators are clearly continuing to price in today.