Dogecoin Up 50%... "Musk Has Collaborated with Developers Since 2019"

Dogecoin Developer Confirms Musk's Dogecoin Improvement Efforts in Interview
Funding Offer Made but Declined

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] It has been claimed that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has been collaborating with Dogecoin developers since 2019.

On the 14th (local time), cryptocurrency specialized media Decrypt reported, citing a developer, that Dogecoin developers have been working with Musk to develop a cryptocurrency more environmentally friendly than Bitcoin.

Ross Nicoll, a Dogecoin developer, stated, "Since 2019, Musk has communicated with developers, providing many ideas and suggestions to support handling more transactions. Musk also shared the contacts he had secured."

Nicoll said that four developers are collaborating with Musk and expressed optimism that Dogecoin's energy consumption, currently about 7% of Bitcoin's, can be further reduced.

Nicoll also revealed that Musk offered to fund research to reduce Dogecoin's energy usage, but the offer was declined.

Previously, Musk sparked controversy by declaring that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin payments for vehicles, citing Bitcoin's high energy consumption.

Since then, Musk has been working with Dogecoin developers to improve transaction efficiency and claimed that the results are promising.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Dogecoin was trading at 55 cents, up 50% compared to 24 hours earlier. Musk's remarks, along with the announcement by Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., that it would start Dogecoin trading, are seen as factors driving Dogecoin's price surge.

Bitcoin was trading at around $49,000, up 0.7%.

Tesla's stock price closed at $589, up 3%. However, Tesla's stock price has fallen 11% this week.

As Tesla's stock price declined, Musk's wealth also sharply decreased. According to Forbes' billionaire rankings, as of the 13th, Musk's net worth was $145.5 billion, down $20.5 billion (23.15 trillion KRW) in four days.