Dogecoin Soars After Elon Musk Says Tesla Will Accept It as Payment for Merchandise

Dogecoin has been one of the most volatile among cryptocurrencies.

Photo: dado ruvic/Reuters

Dec. 14, 2021 7:54 am ET

The cryptocurrency dogecoin surged after Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla will accept some payments in the digital token.

Dogecoin’s price soared as much as 40% compared with Monday’s level at 5 p.m. ET, according to data from CoinDesk. It traded at 22 cents on Tuesday, compared with 16 cents the day before, before easing down to around 20 cents.

“Tesla will make some merch buyable with Doge & see how it goes,” Mr. Musk wrote in the tweet on Tuesday morning.

Dogecoin has been one of the most volatile among cryptocurrencies. It was started in 2013 as a joke and is based on a Shiba Inu internet meme. It had surged over 15,500% in 2021 at its peak in May and is still up over 3,000% for the year.

Mr. Musk is a vocal commentator on cryptocurrencies on social media. His tweets have frequently moved prices, both up and down. He has generally been a supporter of dogecoin, but criticized bitcoin for its high energy use.

He has previously involved Tesla in his views on cryptocurrencies, buying $1.5 billion of bitcoin in February with company funds. Mr. Musk also said at the time that Tesla would begin accepting payments in the cryptocurrency. This was suspended a few months later, citing concerns about high levels of fossil fuel use for bitcoin mining.

Shiba Inu Coin’s recent surge, and subsequent fall in value, is part of a growing trend of meme coins that are rivaling some of the largest digital tokens in the world. WSJ retail investing reporter Caitlin McCabe explains why investors are pouring money into this meme based cryptocurrency. Photo: Amber Bragdon/Getty Images

Write to Anna Hirtenstein at [email protected]

Appeared in the December 15, 2021, print edition as ‘Dogecoin Surges 19% After Musk’s Support.’

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Dogecoin has been one of the most volatile among cryptocurrencies.Anna Hirtenstein