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Kabosu, the face of Dogecoin cryptocurrency, dies at 18, owner says
WASHINGTON — Kabosu, the Japanese dog who became a global meme and the face of the alternative cryptocurrency Dogecoin, has died at 18, his owner announced in a blog post Friday.
The Japanese Shiba Inu died while sleeping, her owner Atsuko Sato wrote.
Kabosu has become recognizable as the face of Dogecoin, an alternative cryptocurrency that began as a satirical critique of the crypto frenzy of 2013.
But the token’s value increased after Tesla boss Elon Musk, a cryptocurrency advocate, began tweeting about it in 2020. Since then, the billionaire has repeatedly promoted the coin.
Dogecoin added as much as $4 billion to its market value last year when the billionaire, who bought social media site Twitter in 2022, briefly replaced Twitter’s blue bird logo with an image of Kabosu . Musk later renamed Twitter X.
With a market capitalization of around $23.6 billion, Dogecoin is now the ninth largest cryptocurrency, according to data site Coingecko.
“The impact this dog has had around the world is immeasurable,” Dogecoin posted on the social media site X on Friday.