After Twitter changed its logo from a bird to a doge, the price of Dogecoin cryptocurrency surged
In a move that may have looked like a late April Fools joke, users checking Twitter this week found the familiar bird logo was replaced with a Shiba Inu — the internet-famous dog that's also the symbol of Dogecoin cryptocurrency.
The cryptocurrency surged in value, with Dogecoin gaining nearly 30% overnight after Twitter changed its logo Monday — though it remains far below its 2021 peak. Twitter's owner, Elon Musk, has been a longtime booster of Dogecoin and is currently facing a lawsuit accusing him of manipulating its value.
It was unknown if the logo change was meant to be permanent or when Twitter's original "Larry T. Bird" — named after Larry Bird of the Celtics — would make a reappearance on the site. CBS News asked Twitter for comment and received an auto-reply with a smiling poop emoji.
"As promised," Musk tweeted Monday, referencing a joke a user made a year ago requesting the logo change.
As promised pic.twitter.com/Jc1TnAqxAV
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2023
The idea came about after Musk, a longtime critic of Twitter before he purchased it, complained about the site, and a user replied that he should "just buy twitter" and "change the logo from a bird to a doge." The future CEO then responded, "Haha that would [be] sickkk."
Musk also tweeted several memes referencing the change.
pic.twitter.com/wmN5WxUhfQ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2023
The logo change caught users' attention as Musk faces a lawsuit alleging he used Twitter as a "pump-and-dump" scheme to boost Dogecoin and profit at the expense of other investors. His lawyers are seeking to get the case dismissed.
According to the class-action suit, Musk drove up the value of Dogecoin over the course of several years — through countless tweets and memes — only to let it crash after a "Saturday Night Live" appearance in which he referred to the meme cryptocurrency as a "hustle."
They claim that Musk and his companies, SpaceX and Tesla, made billions of dollars in profits while other investors suffered, and accuse him of "falsely and deceptively claiming that Dogecoin is a legitimate investment when it has no value at all."
"Defendants were aware since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value yet promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading," the complaint reads. "Musk used his pedestal as World's Richest man to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for profit, exposure and amusement."
"As a result of this fraudulent enterprise," the suit claims, investors "have lost approximately $86 billion."
Musk's lawyers disputed those accusations.
"There is nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion," they wrote in a formal request to dismiss the suit, filed Friday. They maintain that Musk's statements, such as "Dogecoin Rulz" or "No highs, no lows, only Doge," were vague and subjective, and do not amount to "misrepresentations or omissions."
"This court should put a stop to plaintiffs' fantasy and dismiss the complaint," they wrote.
–Irina Ivanova contributed reporting.
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Michael Roppolo is a CBS News reporter. He covers a wide variety of topics, including science and technology, crime and justice, and disability rights.
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