Dogecoin’s value surged to a weekly high of US$0.09, fueled by speculation around X Payments. 

X Payments, the expected payment feature of tech mogul Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter), launched its account with a gold verification badge over the weekend, before Dogecoin’s uptick in value. 

Musk, who is also the chief of Tesla, one of the world’s largest firms with over US$660 billion in market capitalization, has frequently voiced his admiration for the meme-inspired cryptocurrency through his tweets, causing spikes in Dogecoin prices. 

Musk’s fondness of the memecoin has raised speculation around X Payments’s possible adoption of Dogecoin, potentially facilitating its transition from a niche internet currency to a more widely accepted payment option. 

Dogecoin founders Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer launched the cryptocurrency in 2013 as a scheme to satirize Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. 

Unlike Bitcoin’s limited supply, Dogecoin’s cap is unlimited. Dogecoin’s mining mechanism introduces 10,000 new coins into the economy every minute, making it a highly inflationary token. 

Dogecoin traded at US$0.083 at the time of writing.