The parody cryptocurrency Shiba inu coin, which seems somewhat inspired by Dogecoin, hit an all-time high after surging more than 40% over the last week, becoming one of the biggest digital currencies by market value.
Despite being a meme coin, the token has gained more than 45 million percent in the past year, said CoinGecko, who rated the Shiba coin as the 11th biggest cryptocurrency.
But a tweet from billionaire mogul and Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk caused the parody coin to drop by 10%.
Musk, who has backed Dogecoin and frequently moved crypto markets with a single comment, wrote on Twitter that he did not own any Shiba coins, making it fall from its all-time high.
Like Dogecoin, the ninth biggest digital currency by market value, the Shiba token has a Shiba Inu dog as its mascot.
Some enthusiastic investors have become millionaires overnight following the meteoric rise of the quirky digital currency, which has also won some famous backers, including professional athletes and former boy band stars.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated $1 billion worth in Shiba coins to an aid fund to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic in India earlier this year.
Also, a Change.org petition was created urging the Robinhood trading platform to include the Shiba inu currency on its website. So far, it has accumulated 300,000 signatures.
But the Shiba token is not the only digital asset that has seen tremendous growth in recent days. The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, surpassed its all-time high set in April after hitting a new high of nearly $67,000 per coin last week.
Bitcoin was trading at under $44,000 in September, but its prices are up 50% this month to its current value, which is now hovering around $62,000.
The most popular cryptocurrencies’ explosive growth has been fueled by support from major investors such as George Soros and the recent launch of the first exchange-traded fund linked to bitcoin futures.
Moreover, it is believed that regulators in the United States would not take action against cryptocurrencies, as suggested lately. It has increased confidence in crypto investments.
