The price of Dogecoin (DOGE) surged today after Elon Musk, the cryptocurrency's most famous advocate, tweeted about the passing of Kabosu, the Shiba Inu whose iconic expression became synonymous with Dogecoin and meme culture.

Elon Musk Mourns Kabosu

As previously reported by ZyCrypto, Kabosu died on May 24 at the age of 18. Her owner, Atsuko Sato, shared in a blog post that Kabosu had "crossed the rainbow bridge" peacefully. The Shiba Inu was not only a mascot for Dogecoin and other dog-themed cryptocurrencies but also embodied the playful spirit of the cryptoverse.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk paid tribute to Kabosu on his social media platform X. He posted an image of the Harambe gorilla with angel wings embracing the beloved dog amid radiant clouds.

Harambe, a lowland gorilla, was killed in 2016 at the Cincinnati Zoo after grabbing a boy who had climbed into his enclosure. Harambe's death quickly inspired memes and an online movement.

Bullish DOGE Reaction

Following Musk's tribute post, DOGE spiked as much as 7.7% to an intraday high of $0.17 before settling to $0.1649 at press time. This price movement underscores Musk's influence over DOGE. In March, DOGE surged when Musk suggested Tesla might accept the coin for vehicle purchases. Fans also speculate that Musk could integrate DOGE into an X payment system, given his past positive remarks.

Launched in December 2013 as a joke, Dogecoin remains the oldest and largest meme coin, with a market capitalization of $24.2 billion. Despite recent gains, Dogecoin is still down 77.5% from its all-time high of $0.73 in May 2021.