Elon Musk solicits Dogecoin development help
One suggestion? Changing the meme token's fees based on the phases of the moon
How much influence does Elon Musk really have over crypto market?
Decrypt Media editor-in-chief Daniel Roberts on Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Elon Musk’s impact on cryptocurrencies.
After announcing earlier this month that he would be working with Dogecoin's developers to "improve system transaction efficiency," Elon Musk is now soliciting feedback from the public on ideas to enhance the joke currency even further.
"If you’d like to help develop Doge, please submit ideas on GitHub & http://reddit.com/r/dogecoin/ @dogecoin_devs," Musk tweeted on Monday.
He added that one user already suggested changing the meme token's fees based on the phases of the moon, which he called "pretty awesome."
BITCOIN'S BIGGEST CORPORATE INVESTORS WHIPSAWED AMID VOLATILITY
According to prices tracked by Coindesk, Dogecoin has rebounded about 21% to around 36 cents per coin as of late Monday afteroon. Dogecoin tumbled along with the world's two largest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, over the weekend.
Dogecoin (Source: Coindesk)
Musk's comments about Dogecoin over the last month have led to several volatile swings.
During an appearance on Saturday Night Live earlier this month, Musk sent Dogecoin's price plunging when he called it a "hustle." Dogecoin's price later began to climb back up when Musk's aerospace company, SpaceX, announced it would send the digital currency to the literal moon in the first quarter of 2022 with Doge-1, the first-ever commercial payload entirely funded by Dogecoin.
He also helped boost Dogecoin in one tweet asking whether Tesla should accept Dogecoin as an alternative form of payment for its electric vehicles and another in which he wrote "How much is that Doge in the window?", along with a photo of a Shina Ibu, the Doge meme's symbol, on a $1 bill sticker attached to a laptop. The photo also featured the word "Cyberviking" in neon lights.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
Despite his support of Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies, Musk has been critical of Bitcoin for its "insane" energy consumption. He also recently reversed course on accepting the world's largest cryptocurrency as a form of payment for Tesla's electric vehicles, citing Bitcoin mining's reliance on fossil fuels.
Musk's comments, in addition to the China and the United States signaling a potential regulatory crackdown on the cryptocurrency market, caused Dogecoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin to once again drop over the weekend, with the latter losing about 50% of its value. However, Musk recently indicated that Tesla would be holding onto its $1.5 billion Bitcoin investment despite the sell-off.
Musk's effort to develop Dogecoin comes as the Federal Reserve plans to step up its research and engagement with the public as it explores creating central bank digital currencies. Fed chairman Jerome Powell recently said the agency plans to play a "leading role" in the development of international standards as central banks around the world delve into the cryptocurrency realm. Powell noted that digital currencies will "complement" rather than replace the U.S. dollar.
Dogecoin's return are up over 7,000% year-to-date.