<p>A meme-inspired cryptocurrency's price jumped on Tuesday after Elon Musk changed the bluebird logo of Twitter to a dog associated with the digital token, despite the mogul being sued over his previous promotion of the coin.</p>.<p>Musk bought Twitter in October last year for $44 billion and has since slashed the workforce, introduced paid-for accounts and reinstated banned users including former president Donald Trump.</p>.<p>His decision to change the logo to a Shibu Inu dog, whether permanent or another short-lived joke, caused the price of dogecoin to surge by more than 20 percent, from below $0.08 to more than $0.10.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/new-york-times-loses-twitter-blue-badge-koo-founder-invites-it-to-join-platform-1205995.html" target="_blank">New York Times loses Twitter Blue badge, Koo founder invites it to join platform</a></strong></p>.<p>The Twitter chief has 133 million followers and has long used the platform for self-promotion and humour, occasionally also promoting dogecoin, a highly volatile cryptocurrency initially created as a joke.</p>.<p>He is being sued for $258 billion by an investor who claims he lost massive amounts of money because of Musk's activities, though the billionaire has dismissed those claims.</p>.<p>The Shiba Inu dog became a popular meme in 2013 when posters on forums like Reddit and 4chan began using pictures of the Japanese dog breed alongside messages written in broken English.</p>.<p>The cryptocurrency was launched as a joke later that year and remained largely without value for years -- like thousands of other coins.</p>.<p>However, in May 2021 its value briefly spiked to a record $0.73 after Musk suggested his auto firm Tesla could begin to accept it as payment.</p>.<p>The value quickly slumped and investors have accused Musk of manipulating the value of the token to make a quick profit, known as a "pump and dump".</p>.<p>Musk has said he is committed to crypto and that he pumps but does not dump.</p>.<p>The logo change prompted a slew of messages featuring the meme dog -- not least from Musk, who tweeted out a conversation with a follower from last year where he had promised to buy Twitter and make the Shiba Inu its logo.</p>.<p>However, some users were more cynical.</p>.<p>"Why do I get the feeling the Doge icon was added so when you search 'Elon' and 'Doge' the story of his racketeering lawsuit will be buried," tweeted comedian Jesse McLaren.</p>
<p>A meme-inspired cryptocurrency's price jumped on Tuesday after Elon Musk changed the bluebird logo of Twitter to a dog associated with the digital token, despite the mogul being sued over his previous promotion of the coin.</p>.<p>Musk bought Twitter in October last year for $44 billion and has since slashed the workforce, introduced paid-for accounts and reinstated banned users including former president Donald Trump.</p>.<p>His decision to change the logo to a Shibu Inu dog, whether permanent or another short-lived joke, caused the price of dogecoin to surge by more than 20 percent, from below $0.08 to more than $0.10.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/new-york-times-loses-twitter-blue-badge-koo-founder-invites-it-to-join-platform-1205995.html" target="_blank">New York Times loses Twitter Blue badge, Koo founder invites it to join platform</a></strong></p>.<p>The Twitter chief has 133 million followers and has long used the platform for self-promotion and humour, occasionally also promoting dogecoin, a highly volatile cryptocurrency initially created as a joke.</p>.<p>He is being sued for $258 billion by an investor who claims he lost massive amounts of money because of Musk's activities, though the billionaire has dismissed those claims.</p>.<p>The Shiba Inu dog became a popular meme in 2013 when posters on forums like Reddit and 4chan began using pictures of the Japanese dog breed alongside messages written in broken English.</p>.<p>The cryptocurrency was launched as a joke later that year and remained largely without value for years -- like thousands of other coins.</p>.<p>However, in May 2021 its value briefly spiked to a record $0.73 after Musk suggested his auto firm Tesla could begin to accept it as payment.</p>.<p>The value quickly slumped and investors have accused Musk of manipulating the value of the token to make a quick profit, known as a "pump and dump".</p>.<p>Musk has said he is committed to crypto and that he pumps but does not dump.</p>.<p>The logo change prompted a slew of messages featuring the meme dog -- not least from Musk, who tweeted out a conversation with a follower from last year where he had promised to buy Twitter and make the Shiba Inu its logo.</p>.<p>However, some users were more cynical.</p>.<p>"Why do I get the feeling the Doge icon was added so when you search 'Elon' and 'Doge' the story of his racketeering lawsuit will be buried," tweeted comedian Jesse McLaren.</p>