In a surprising turn of events that has sent ripples throughout the cryptocurrency market, Twitter's decision to replace its iconic blue bird logo with a Doge image has triggered a significant surge in Dogecoin's value and market position. This strategic move has propelled the meme-based cryptocurrency to surpass Cardano in terms of market capitalization.
The digital currency landscape witnessed an extraordinary moment on March 3rd when Twitter incorporated the Doge image into its loading screen and replaced its homepage logo with the now-famous Shiba Inu picture. This seemingly simple change initiated a buying frenzy that began precisely at 18:30 BST, as evidenced by trading charts.
Within just 30 minutes of Twitter's logo modification, Dogecoin experienced a dramatic 24% price increase, with the digital asset reaching as high as $0.1047—marking its highest point in 17 weeks. The subsequent profit-taking phase caused a dip to $0.0891, yet the momentum was sufficient to elevate Dogecoin above Cardano in the cryptocurrency rankings.
This impressive trough-to-peak movement added approximately $3.4 billion to Dogecoin's total market capitalization. Despite the minor price correction that followed, DOGE has maintained most of these substantial gains. Currently standing at $13.65 billion, Dogecoin's market cap now slightly exceeds Cardano's $13.58 billion valuation.
Amidst a relatively stagnant broader cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin has emerged as the top performer over the past 24 hours, demonstrating an impressive 25% increase. The next closest competitor, Injective (INJ), recorded only 8% gains during the same period.
Following Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, persistent rumors circulated regarding potential cryptocurrency integration on the platform. However, by January of the following year, Twitter officials had effectively dismissed these speculations, indicating that while they were exploring digital payment options and necessary regulatory licensing, full cryptocurrency functionality remained a future consideration.
The significance of Monday's logo change remains somewhat ambiguous. Observers question whether this represents a preliminary indication of forthcoming cryptocurrency integration features. Elon Musk has responded to the logo alteration with several cryptic tweets, including one suggesting that the blue bird logo was merely "an old photo."
At surface level, the change appears to have been inspired by a direct suggestion from @WSBChairman, though the full context of this interaction remains unclear to the general public.
Crypto analyst Ivan on Tech commented on the regulatory implications, referencing Musk's previous confrontations with authorities and the current "Operation Chokepoint 2.0" climate, with a sarcastic call for SEC intervention.
Conversely, Brad Mills adopted a more critical stance, condemning Musk's promotion of what he termed "degenerate get-rich-quick crap" over more established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.