The joke is over? Elon Musk fans truly believe he can make Dogecoin the currency of Earth Dogecoin Foundation strikes deals to mainstream the popular memecoin. Ashley Belanger Feb 28, 2025 7:00 am | 32 What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss? Credit: Aurich Lawson | No Country For Old Men What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss? Credit: Aurich Lawson | No Country For Old Men Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAt a time when many analysts are declaring memecoins dead, the most popular memecoin of all time, Dogecoin, not only perseveres but appears likely to become more mainstream than ever in 2025.Most memecoinscryptocurrencies inspired by Internet memesremain controversial. Their prices can suddenly skyrocket before abruptly crashing, causing extreme gains and losses at a moment's notice, often triggered by a celebrity mention that tenuously amplifies short-term interest.Donald Trump's memecoin is a recent example. Within two days of its launch, it peaked at above $70 before falling to $17 shortly after, Reuters reported. Seeing that politically backed token take off apparently inspired Argentine President Javier Milei to endorse another memecoin called Libra, which seemed to set off a brief price surge before a devastating crash that caused most traders to endure losses. Only about 34 investors in total reportedly profited $124.6 million from Milei's endorsement, which a federal judge is now investigating as an alleged "rug pull" scheme, Reuters reported.Overall, memecoins are viewed as highly volatile cryptocurrency assets vulnerable to fraud, insider trading, pump-and-dump schemes, and other market manipulation. And Dogecoin, like all memecoins, has also experienced wild swings in its value, which seems especially volatile before and after Elon Musk promotes the token on his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter).Although Dogecoin started out as a joke cryptocurrency, investors started taking it more seriously after its value jumped by 36,000 percent after Musk tweets promised to send it "to the moon" in 2021, sociologist Dominik Zelinsky wrote in a 2024 article exploring Musk's influence on the Dogecoin market. And more recently, Dogecoin's price spiked after Donald Trump formally announced the creation of Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, a reference to the token).Musk's X posts about Dogecoin are viewed as so dependable to move the market that thousands have used a bot to instantly buy and sell the token on Binance based on what they say, Tradoge creator Guillaume Schurck told Ars (while also noting that he never offers any financial advice).In the past, Musk has said that "the most entertaining outcome"and "the most ironic outcome"of his efforts to popularize Dogecoin "would be that Dogecoin becomes the currency of Earth of the future." His seeming influence on Dogecoin's price has prompted at least one attempted class-action lawsuit raised by angry Dogecoin investors who accused Musk of running a "crypto pyramid scheme" that collectively caused $258 billion in losses by seemingly pumping up Dogecoin's price at his whim, Zelinsky noted.Musk successfully defeated those claims, partly by insisting that his forward-looking statements about Dogecoin were purely "aspirational." But while the judge in that case said Musk's Dogecoin praise was obviously "puffery" that "no reasonable investor could rely upon," Zelinsky analyzed two years of Musk's social media posts trying to understand "why did people follow Musk" and spend "their money on an object that was never intended to be a sound investment?"He found that years of Musk tweets branding Dogecoin as "the people's crypto" and envisioning the token as someday becoming "the standard for the global financial system" actually created a segment of true believers among his followers who, to this day, fully expect Musk to be a cryptocurrency kingmaker who will crown Dogecoin as the default "currency of Earth." (It possibly helps that Musk has repeatedly referred to his supporters as the "people of Earth.")Those true believers recently got a big boost of confidence that "someday" may be coming soon. Last week, Dogecoin Foundation Director Timothy Stebbing announced on X that deals have been struck with big brands to "rapidly" accelerate Dogecoin's adoption and utility."We believe 2025 will see the largest growth in utility and adoption to date," Stebbing predicted in a 2024 Dogecoin ecosystem report.But Dogecoin's plan hinges on stabilizing the memecoin's value, which is what Zelinsky found the segment of Musk believers also want. And that has seemingly introduced some tension in their belief system, should Musk's ongoing endorsements maintain the memecoin's price volatility and potentially obstruct Dogecoin's steady growth.In his report, Stebbing wrote that Dogecoin could see between 200300 percent growth in value over the next three years by partnering on "projects that see Dogecoin used as a means of payment for goods and services.""The true value of Dogecoin will settle as we move from speculative asset to utility-based means of exchange," Stebbing forecasted, suggesting that by steering the token away from pump-and-dump cycles, "the future looks bright."For Musk fans who expect him to make or break the memecoin, it may be hard to swallow that the best thing for Dogecoin could be for Musk to stop talking about it.Stebbing told Ars that Musk "definitely got Dogecoin noticed," but "long before any celebrity endorsements, Dogecoin had a very active community" who used the coin to complete small transactions between individuals. It was initially useful for tipping or paying artists and musicians, he said. And if Musk stepped back from his 2019 fan-appointed role as Dogecoin's fake CEO, that might end up being the move that allows the memecoin to shine."As far as celebrity endorsements having an effect on the price, I know a lot of us would rather it stay a bit more stable, but since Dogecoin isn't supposed to be speculative, a celebrity 'pump' isn't that vital," Stebbing told Ars. "Acceptance and adoption, however, is."Dogecoin deals may rapidly mainstream the memecoinApparently, the ball got rolling on a series of deals after a mysterious "close friend of Dogecoin" introduced the foundation to "a group of people with decades of experience at the very top of the American private investment and enterprise world," Stebbing said on X. (As you might expect, some commenters made jokes implying Musk may be the "close friend.")Unlike prior investors who only saw Dogecoin as a flashy brand with social media traction to cash in on, Stebbing claimed that this investor groupmembers of which will be made public by mid-Marchsimply "wanted to be involved in helping Dogecoin achieve [its] goals of becoming a real daily-use currency, through adoption for payments across the United States."Springing from that partnership is a new commercial entity called the House of Doge (HOD), Stebbing confirmed. Over the next five years, the HOD will be "tasked with bringing Dogecoin adoption to the world stage," putting Dogecoin in the pockets of "large corporations, globally recognized brands, and millions of new individuals not yet familiar with Dogecoin and our mission," Stebbing wrote.In his post, Stebbing paints a future in which Dogecoin is widely accepted at major sporting eventspossibly catching on with millions of baseball, football, hockey, and sports-car racing fans who may never have traded in cryptocurrency before. The token will also be an acceptable form of payment at restaurant chains, Stebbing teased, and even potentially soon in kids' school cafeteria lines. And perhaps representing the strongest endorsement of Dogecoin's legitimacy as a currency, Stebbing said US government officials are also "excited" about adopting Dogecoin to pay for "everything from city parking" to utilities.Previously, the Dogecoin Foundation operated on donations fueling a small development team, limiting the currency's growth, as Stebbing claimed the foundation turned away millions in potential investments deemed unserious about Dogecoin's mission. But now, with money soon coming from the HOD, the foundation is already moving to double its development team. That will allow the foundation to focus on building new technologies, making it even easier to adopt the memecoin in even more settings, Stebbing said.The HOD will also "create a large Dogecoin Reserve & Treasury which will be utilized to provide liquidity to the various organizations and integrations across the US, to help onboard a whole new wave of users to Dogecoin," Stebbing wrote on X.Dogecoin vs. stablecoinsNot everyone believes Dogecoin is about to take over the world.At the time of this writing, the token is worth approximately 20 cents after about a week of incremental price drops thataccording to live reporting on blockchain transactions by "Whale_Alert" on Xare seemingly spookingsome traders.That's not true of certain Dogecoin believers who endure slump after slump, firmly believing in the token's long-term vision and not seeking short-term gains or simply committing to the bit. And at the start of 2025, there was some evidence that their belief was well-founded. In December, Galaxy Research, which focuses on forecasting cryptocurrency trends, predicted that Dogecoin could hit the $1 mark in 2025. Back in 2021 when Musk was helping pump up Dogecoin's price to its furthest extreme, Mark Cuban predicted that when the memecoin reached a $1 valuation, Dogecoin would likely stay above that price and function like a stablecoin.Unlike memecoins, stablecoins' values are pegged to various currencies. In the US, for example, Trump has abandoned the idea of developing a central bank digital currency in favor of legislation promoting the mass adoption of US dollar-backed stablecoins. According to Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smithwhose group is currently advising Congress on stablecoin legislation while forming small working groups to build industry consensus on policy shiftsthe "whole point" of Trump pushing stablecoins is to strengthen the US dollar by speeding up and increasing access to it worldwide.Smith told Ars that Trump's crypto czar, David Sacks (a longtime Musk ally), appears motivated to advance stablecoin legislation "as soon as possible this year."Currently, there are two billsthe "STABLE" Act in the House and the "GENIUS" Act in the Senate (which, yes, if combined, could be billed as the "STABLE GENIUS" Act, Smith joked)that provide both bank and non-bank paths to issue dollar-backed stablecoins.The Blockchain Association advocated for non-bank paths for years, making it clear to lawmakers that demand is there."Globally, there's actually a huge demand for US dollar-denominated stablecoins because many countries are looking for a safe place to store their money, and they want to get access to US dollars, and they can't get it through their banks," Smith said. "And so they're getting it through stablecoins."In the future, Smith wants to see state and federal pathways developed, as well as a market regulator appointed to officially classify tokens.If done "correctly," clearer regulatory guidelines would encourage a wide range of companies to issue tokens from the US, Smith said, while potentially paving the way for the entire industry of blockchain technologies to thrive domestically. Mass adoption of stablecoins could also, she suggested, normalize and spur the adoption of other cryptocurrencies as average US citizens suddenly become used to having crypto wallets."I think stablecoins have the potential to be the gateway to the crypto world for a lot of Americans," Smith told Ars.Marquette University finance expert David Krause told Ars that he agrees with Smith that "wider stablecoin adoption could pave the way for broader cryptocurrency acceptance, potentially including Dogecoin.""Almost all memecoins are nothing more than a joke or a scam," Krause said. "However, Dogecoin's low fees and fast transaction times actually make it somewhat attractive for payments, like tipping or donating to charities. As Dogecoin's ecosystem expands with real-world applications (small retailer integration is possible), it could move beyond its meme status and become a more practical tool."But Krause does not see a future in which Dogecoin could become a common medium of exchange."I certainly don't imagine using Dogecoin at the grocery store checkout," Krause told Ars.This month, Krause published an article suggesting that it was unlikely that the Securities and Exchange Commission would approve Dogecoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs)a verdict expected this October that could also help mainstream the memecoin or move it closer to the $1 mark.Krause told Ars he believes that even with the Trump administration's rushed attempts to quickly relax crypto regulations, ETF approval would probably be a "long shot" because "Dogecoin's volatility and speculative nature present major hurdles" without "substantial safeguards and structural changes.""Celebrity endorsements and social media hype might give Dogecoin a short-term boost, but this could actually harm its long-term viability," Krause told Ars. "Dogecoin's price volatility, driven by social media trends rather than underlying value, makes it susceptible to market manipulation and raises regulatory concerns. To thrive long-term, Dogecoin needs to shift its focus from hype to fundamental development, real-world applications, and regulatory compliance."For his part, Stebbing told Ars that he doesn't see ETFs playing a long-term role in the Dogecoin landscape, and he isn't fixated on Dogecoin reaching $1. In fact, he's eager to move past the milestone, whether Dogecoin sticks at that vaunted price point or not."Price stability is more important than price when it comes to using Dogecoin for everyday retail purchases," Stebbing told Ars. "If I had to guess, there are a lot of people who will sell their Dogecoin the moment we hit $1, [and] I look forward to getting that over with so we can find the true, stable value of the currency."Time will tell if X enables Dogecoin paymentsSmith pointed out that stablecoin legislation could motivate companies to become stablecoin issuers, and it seems likely that Musk would entertain such an idea on X, where his attempts to launch X Money have stalled so far.After claiming that X users could manage their entire financial life on the platform by the end of 2024, Musk's platform kicked off 2025 heavily promoting X Money's delayed launch this year. Those announcements came despite the fact that X withdrew a key money transmitter license application in New York that analysts suggested risked delaying its launch indefinitely.It seems possible that stablecoins could provide X with another path to issue dollar-backed currency without needing money transmitter licenses in every state. Musk may have given up on fighting for the licenses, instead teaming up with Trump to potentially eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which monitors the traditional sort of money transmitter activities that currently seem just out of Musk's reach. (Trump killing off the CFPB is viewed as a conflict of interest for Musk, whose DOGE department is overseeing cuts, CBS News reported.)There has long been speculation that X Money will enable cryptocurrency payments, including Dogecoin. After Musk took over Twitter, he briefly changed the logo to a shiba inu, the symbol of Dogecoin. And while X has never officially confirmed the rumors, it's not a stretch to think that Musk may be interested in promoting Dogecoin through X, perhaps even striving to make it easier to convert Dogecoin into stablecoins on the same platform where Musk's posts, many followers believe, move markets.If X embraces Dogecoin, it could make bots like Tradoge less attractive. Schurck told Ars that changes Musk made removing free access to X's API had already briefly disrupted the bot, but he "managed to find a workaround."Stebbing told Ars that he has no "special insight" into Musk's plans for X Money, but he thinks "it would be unusual, considering their predilections as an organization that once had the Dogecoin mascot as their logo for a week, not to adopt the currency.""Time will tell," Stebbing said.X did not respond to Ars' request to comment.Loyal Musk fans have faith in Dogecoins futureSchurck told Ars he's not really involved in trading any cryptocurrencies other than Dogecoin, confirming that, like many others Zelinsky tracked online, he primarily became attracted to the memecoin because of Musk's endorsements."Musk's X posting is the main reason I buy and sell Doge," Schurck said.Of course, Schurck isnt alone in only trading Dogecoin due to Musk's influence.Zelinsky started studying Musk's seeming power over Dogecoin markets while filling a gap in research exploring economic impacts of charismatic leaders like Musk and Trump, whose authority is "made, maintained, and unmade through symbolically charged acts of social exchange." He's currently writing a book focused on expanding research into how charismatic leaders in the tech world and other areas are changing over time and considers Musk "a pretty good example" of a charismatic leader whose political influence is currently peaking."It's hard to go higher than being this kind of a second-in-charge or second-in-popularity to Trump," Zelinsky said.On Reddit and X, Zelinsky analyzed messages from Musk followers who truly believed that Dogecoin price hikes are Musk's "gift" propelling Dogecoin to become not just the "currency of Earth" but the currency of Mars. That's the real fantasy that makes Musk such a charismatic figure, Zelinsky suggested."If we keep believing in the coin and everything we should make it stand for, we will be chilling on Mars," one Musk follower said."Forget about the effing moon, Elon Musk is taking Doge to Mars!!!" another posted.Others, whom Zelinsky satirically refers to as pirates, are more pragmatic. In a "non-devotional way," Zelinsky told Ars, they trust that Musk "could create a momentous demand that would drive the price of Dogecoin upward and let them profit from credulous investors who are late to the party.""I used Doge the right way," one Musk follower said. "Im not gonna hold that shit," it "has no utility. Just have notifications turned on for [Elon's] twits and [make] some easy money."Zelinsky told Ars that historically, followers of charismatic leaders generally hold onto their beliefs until the charisma wanes and figures become viewed as mundane. Since Musk's political influence is arguably greater than ever, it's likely that his followers have only strengthened their belief in his power to fulfill his promises to popularize Dogecoin and take them to Mars.But charismatic authority is "a very volatile kind of phenomenon," Zelinsky said, forecasting that even Musk "cannot stay charismatic forever." He pointed to a field of study into technofeudalism, which theorizes that tech leaders in particular are becoming more traditional and less disruptive over time.One could argue that Dogecoin, too, has charismatic authority over traders, many of whom love that Doge is disruptive and buy Doge just for a laugh. But if Dogecoin becomes more stable, as Stebbing wants, Dogecoin risks becoming "less interesting as an object of belief," Zelinsky suggested.And although there are plenty of believers in Dogecoin today, there also persists a stubborn segment of Dogecoin fans who don't want the joke to end or see the memecoin become as normal as a crumpled-up dollar. Dogecoin could risk losing this joker segment if it becomes too stable and serious.Schurck told Ars that while he could easily see more people using Dogecoin if companies started adopting it as a payment method, for him, "Dogecoin remains a joke first. A funny, expensive joke and a cool meme, sure! But still a joke."Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 32 Comments