Why Dogecoin (DOGE) Is Up 12% Today

Elon Musk clarifies support for Dogecoin and the price jumps yet again.

Dogecoin (DOGE), the coin based on the Shiba Inu "doge" meme, is up over 12% today. Created by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, the open-source digital currency actually started out as a joke but has gained enough clout and popularity to be respected in its own right. It does, however, keep its jovial nature alive by featuring the cute pup.

The Dogefather

Part of the reason behind the coin's recent success is the fact that it is lauded and promoted by the richest man in the world, Elon Musk. Musk has been acquiring companies, adding to his empire, and championing Dogecoin. In 2021, his outspoken support for the company garnered him the nickname "The Dogefather." Musk's company Tesla also began accepting Dogecoin for purchases and he has said that SpaceX will soon follow.

This latest spike in Dogecoin price comes after Musk has reiterated support for the coin via Twitter and in an interview on Bloomberg Live. He vouched for Dogecoin and tweeted, "I will keep supporting Dogecoin." A commenter on that Tweet said,"Keep buying it then," to which Musk replied, "I am."

In the Bloomberg interview, he claimed, "I have never said that people should invest in crypto. In the case of Tesla, SpaceX, myself, we all did buy some Bitcoin, but it's a small percentage of our total cash assets." Now, if that doesn't sound supportive, hang on, because he later went on to say, "I intend to personally support Dogecoin, because I just know a lot of people who are not that wealthy who have encouraged me to buy and support Dogecoin. I'm responding to those people… just people when I walk around the factory at SpaceX or Tesla, they've asked me to support Dogecoin, so I'm doing so."

The bottom line

In light of these statements, Dogecoin is up 12% on cryptocurrency exchanges today with a price of $0.067480. It's still a far cry from its all-time high, which it hit in May of 2021. Dogecoin is 90% below that high, but today it's in the green and supported by someone with a lot of green.