Cryptocurrencies are skyrocketing just 7 days before the presidential election, and many people are wondering why. The answer, which should come as no surprise, is of course, Elon Musk.
The reason is a perfect storm of sorts. Musk’s increased prominence as he campaigns for Donald Trump, his recent comments about cryptocurrency, and his potential role in a Trump administration (should Trump win) are all driving up the price of Bitcoin as well as Dogecoin and a number of other meme coins.
Dogecoin, a favorite of Musk’s, was up 9.7% on Tuesday. This comes after the tech billionaire said at a Trump political rally in Pennsylvania that he’s not “actively involved” in crypto: “I just like Dogecoin.”
The billionaire founder of Tesla and Space X and owner of X has a long history with Dogecoin, which he first promoted in 2021 on Saturday Night Live, causing the price to spike, only to plunge afterward. (The meme coin’s price has gone up and down based on Musk’s comments since.)
Musk, who has been actively campaigning for the Republican nominee and raising money for Trump, has also said he would be heading the Department of Government Efficiency, dubbed DOGE, if the former president is elected. That has also contributed to the frenzy, leading to a more-than-20% gain in Dogecoin over the past seven days, and 33% over the month.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin, which is the largest cryptocurrency by total market capitalization, was up over 4.4% on Tuesday, seemingly swept up in the excitement. It’s now trading just short of its March record high.
And that’s not the only crypto that’s up. Ethereum spiked 5.5% while Solana was up 3.9%, according to Decrypt, with “Musk-inspired tokens” including Dogelon Mars (ELON) and the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) all up double-digits, per CoinGecko.