Dogecoin (DOGE) price climbed on Friday after the passing of Kabosu, the Shiba Inu who inspired the meme cryptocurrency.
The memecoin rose after the news broke that Kabosu had passed away. Dogecoin’s official account on X announced, “Today, Kabosu, our community’s shared friend and inspiration, peacefully passed, in the arms of her person.” Kabosu’s influence on the world and the cryptocurrency community was profound, having been the face of the viral meme that led to Dogecoin’s creation in December 2013.
The second spike happened after Elon Musk tweeted about Kabosu’s passing. Musk’s tweet featured an image of the Shiba meme alongside a gorilla, referencing another internet icon, Harambe. “OG Doge has ascended to heaven to be with his friend Harambe,” Musk wrote, linking two major viral phenomena.
Elon Musk’s frequent endorsements have historically influenced Dogecoin’s price, propelling it to all-time highs in the summer of 2021. Despite claiming in December 2023 that he spends “hardly” any time thinking about cryptocurrency, Musk’s influence remains significant. Following the news of Kabosu’s death and Musk’s tweet, DOGE traded around $0.17, up 3.8% over the past 24 hours, with about $2.8 billion worth of Dogecoin traded during that period.
Other dog-themed tokens, including Shiba Inu (SHIB) and FLOKI (FLOKI), also saw brief spikes in response to the news.
Kabosu, who was over 17 years old, became a beloved internet icon through her viral meme picture, which inspired the creation of Dogecoin. Her passing marks the end of an era for one of the most influential memes in internet history. Kabosu’s owner announced a farewell party to be held on Sunday, May 26, at Flower Kaori in Kotsu no Mori, Narita City.
Dogecoin, which began as a joke currency, has since become the largest memecoin by market capitalization and inspired a plethora of other dog-themed tokens.
