The price of the popular crypto meme token dogecoin jumped Friday after Elon Musk indicated that his private space exploration firm SpaceX would begin accepting it as payment for merchandise.
Musk, whose frequent public support for dogecoin has regularly driven spikes in its value, revealed his plans for SpaceX on Twitter. His other firm, Tesla, has already accepted dogecoin in its online store since January.
“Tesla merch can be bought with Doge, soon SpaceX merch too,” Musk tweeted.
Musk did not specify exactly when SpaceX will start accepting dogecoin as payment. For now, items in the company’s online store are still listed in dollars.
When asked if SpaceX would allow customers to pay for “Starlink” satellite internet subscriptions with dogecoin, Musk responded, “Maybe one day.”
Dogecoin was trading 4% higher on Friday afternoon even as other well-known cryptocurrencies plummeted. Bitcoin fell 3% to $28,740 and Ethereum fell 8% to $1,749, according to Coinbase data.
Still, dogecoin has struggled since last May, when the meme token hit an all-time high of $0.74. At present, a single dogecoin is worth about $0.08.
Last May, SpaceX accepted dogecoin as full payment for a lunar mission dubbed the “DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon.” Geometric Energy Corporation used the cryptocurrency to cover the cost of a payload launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, CNBC reported.
Dogecoin experienced a similar surge in value when Tesla began accepting it in January. At the time, Tesla’s “Cyberquad for Kids” was listed at 12,020 doge, or about $2,300, including shipping and taxes.
Musk’s advocacy has helped dogecoin transform from a meme token to investment vehicle for some crypto touts.
In March, Musk revealed that he had no plans to sell his cryptocurrency holdings, including his dogecoin stash, despite surging inflation that has contributed to a downturn in the market.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
