Twitter users noticed a change in Twitter icon Monday late evening leaving them confused. Users across the globe have reported the change where Twitter’s 17-year-old “bird” logo swiftly updated into that of a Shiba Inu a prominent dog breed that has its roots in Japan.
Twitter users noticed the ‘doge’ meme, which is part of the logo of the Dogecoin blockchain and cryptocurrency and was created as a joke in 2013, on the web version of Twitter. Notably, there was no change on Twitter’s mobile app.
The moves against the backdrop of the latest Dogecoin crypto controversy. Musk petitioned a US federal court to drop a $258bn racketeering lawsuit levied against him by crypto investors. Plaintiffs allege that the Tesla executive was essentially operating a pyramid scheme in support of the cryptocurrency which resulted in billions of dollars in losses. They claim that Musk used his pedestal as World’s Richest man to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for profit, exposure and amusement.
The cheeky dog is perhaps most well-known for serving as the face of Dogecoin, the meme coin that billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk famously endorsed and helped catapult into success in the spring of 2021 – that is, until its historic crash in 2022, when the value of the currency tanked approximately 75%. However tables turned following Twitter’s decision Monday, Dogecoin’s price spiked more than 26% to about $0.1, per data from CoinGecko.
It remains to see whether the change is to stay for long or depart soon.