Dogecoin surges after Elon Musk says the crypto can be used to purchase Tesla goods

euronews.com:

Tesla chief Elon Musk said on Friday the electric carmaker will accept the cryptocurrency Dogecoin as payment for its merchandise.

"Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin," Musk tweeted.

The meme-based crypto jumped on Friday as much as 14 per cent in 24 hours, according to pricing from Coinmarketcap.

Musk has hinted at the move for some time. The Tesla chief has called Doge the "people's crypto" in a tweet in 2021, causing it to soar around 4,000 per cent.

In December, Musk said in a tweet that Dogecoin will be allowed on a test basis to purchase its merchandise. The news sent the cryptocurrency up more than 20 per cent.

Dogecoin was created as an initial joke by two software engineers, who were making fun of the wild speculation of cryptocurrencies. Doge is considered the first "Meme coin".

The Tesla chief has previously called Doge the "people's crypto".

Dogecoin was created as an initial joke by two software engineers, who were making fun of the wild speculation of cryptocurrencies. Doge is considered the first "Meme coin".

He added that unlike Bitcoin, which investors hold onto instead of selling, Dogecoin is a currency that “encourages people to spend, rather than sort of hoard as a store of value”.

Dogecoin’s co-creator Billy Markus tweeted on Friday an image that appears to show a Cyberwhistle available for a price of 300 Dogecoin.