After the Twitter logo was changed from the original blue bird to a cartoon image of the famous Shiba Inu Doge, the cryptocurrency dogecoin rose significantly in value and is now up 27% more than 12 hours later. However, a number of bitcoin proponents expressed distaste for the logo change, and a few insisted that Elon Musk was promoting “unregistered securities” by making the change.
Doge Logo Change Has Upset a Handful of Bitcoiners, While Others Oppose the Discontent
On April 3, 2023, the Twitter logo was changed to a cartoon image of the popular meme of the Shiba Inu Doge, and the reason for the change is unclear. While the image is simply a cartoon picture of Doge, it has been directly associated with the cryptocurrency meme asset dogecoin (DOGE). Some even speculated that Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, swapped the logo for the Doge meme to troll against a recent multibillion-dollar lawsuit against him that claims his tweets artificially inflate the price of DOGE.
Meanwhile, mainstream media publications like Mashable attempted to downplay the Twitter logo change by calling it “corporate cringe” and insisting that the internet “reacted by laughing at (not with) Elon Musk.” Additionally, a number of bitcoin advocates tweeted their opposition to the logo change and criticized Musk for not highlighting the leading cryptocurrency BTC. One individual wrote, “Pumping centralized unregistered securities again, [Elon Musk]?” Another person opined that “Dogecoin needs Elon Musk to win. Bitcoin needs nobody. That’s why we will win.”
Elon’s dumb little Doge stunt is absolutely worth it for all the seething it’s caused among salty Bitcoin maximalists.
“uNrEgIsTeReD sEcUrItY” ok BitKaren 😏
— Joel Valenzuela (@TheDesertLynx) April 3, 2023
After the logo was changed, Twitter was filled with posts from bitcoin supporters who were dissatisfied with the Doge logo replacement. “Dogecoin is not ‘money for the people’ as advertised by Elon Musk. Bitcoin is,” tweeted Mark Harvey. “This is due to block size. In a hypothetical world where both blockchains are fully adopted (all blocks completely full of transactions), dogecoin would be significantly more centralized than bitcoin,” Harvey claimed. Bitcoin author and educator Anita Posch emphasized that the logo change was “too much.”
“This is really getting too much,” Posch said. “What a blunt advertisement for Dogecoin. I really loved Twitter, but since Elon is around everything is getting worse.”
Not everyone agreed with the bitcoin supporters who tweeted their opposition to the logo change. In response to the allegation of pumping “unregistered securities,” one person replied, “This new breed of Bitcoiner that’s totally anti-free market and pro-government regulation is confusing to me.” “[Elon Musk is] clearly trolling. Why are we getting so outraged?” another individual asked. While Posch claimed that “many people will lose money” and that “it’s totally irresponsible,” others challenged the author’s argument.
“If people lose money because somebody exchanges a bird logo with a dog logo, then they totally deserve to lose it. Nothing about this is irresponsible,” one person tweeted to Posch.
Still, many Bitcoin advocates felt compelled to criticize Twitter’s new owner for changing the logo. “So Elon Musk, how does changing the Twitter logo to a DOGE dog help you towards your stated goal of ‘doing useful things for civilization?’ You’re contributing to distraction from the most important invention in human history since the Internet – Bitcoin,” wrote Brett Morrison, CEO of truevote.org.
And, of course, several people dismissed these opinions as close-minded maximalism. “I would say the same about maxis who are putting people off Bitcoin in the thousands with their Hubris. Doge may well end up historically more important than bitcoin,” replied one person to Morrison’s complaint.
What do you think about the Twitter logo change to the Doge meme and the ensuing reactions from Bitcoin supporters? Do you believe it was just a harmless logo change or do you agree with those who claim that it promotes DOGE? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.