Musk with surprising Dogecoin update

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who managed to alienate a solid part of the crypto community with recent tweets, has renewed his support of Dogecoin (DOGE/USD), the notorious meme-based cryptocurrency. Its price skyrocketed this year, up almost 10,000% y/y, and made the list of the top ten cryptos by market cap.

Bitcoin’s (BTC/USD) ascent pales by comparison, adding ‘just’ 400% y/y, with much of its growth achieved after Musk revealed Tesla had bought Bitcoin worth $1.5 billion at the beginning of the year.

Musk thinks DOGE miners need to keep their software updated

Musk agreed DOGE miners needed to keep their software updated in response to meme coin co-creator Billy Markus. Miners are responsible for securing the ecosystem and get freshly-minted coins in return. Markus tweeted:

Musk replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

Musk pursues plan to ‘beat Bitcoin hands down’

The latest Dogecoin version, which was released in August, is designed to prepare the network for the lower fees recommended. Previously, Musk called on the people running network nodes to get software updates in order to make lower Dogecoin transaction fees a possibility. This seems to be part of his plan to "beat Bitcoin hands down."

In May, Musk shared he was working with Dogecoin developers to make system transaction more efficient, saying that it was "super important for Doge fees to drop to make things like buying movie [tickets] viable."

Dogecoin has lost around 70% of value since May peak

So far, the price of the tongue-in-cheek meme coin has been stagnant despite the billionaire's latest intervention. Since his appearance on Saturday Night Live in May, the coin has since lost around 70% of its value. After he shared a picture of his Shiba Inu dog, the price of Shiba Inu (SHIB/USD) rose by almost 500%.