Dogecoin (DOGE) Founder Reacts to Kabosu Passing Away

Cover image via U.Today

Billy Markus, who collaborated with software developer Jackson Palmer in 2013 to create the groundbreaking meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin, has utilized the X platform to pay homage to the iconic meme Shiba Inu dog Kabosu, who passed away on Friday.

DOGE Founder Comments on Kabosu's Passing

After gaining meme status in 2010, Kabosu inspired the creators of Dogecoin and became the mascot of this original meme crypto.

Markus, known on X as Shibetoshi Nakamoto, published a post depicting Kabosu conversing with Death, where the dog utters, "It's time to go." She inquires of Death if she "was a good girl," to which Death responds, "No. I'm told you were the best."

The meme community rallied around Markus, posting memes of Kabosu and her reunion with Harambe, a gorilla who became a meme after his death in 2016.

pic.twitter.com/GTXwqW13j9— Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) May 24, 2024

Kabosu passed away on Friday in Japan at the age of 19. Atsuko Sato, the dog's owner, shared the somber news on her blog. The official Dogecoin account on X shared her post with the meme coin community.

Elon Musk's Influence on DOGE

Elon Musk, a staunch supporter of Dogecoin, also paid tribute to Kabosu in a tweet on Friday. DOGE and another popular meme coin, Shiba Inu (SHIB), experienced brief surges in response to the centibillionaire's tweet. Musk tweeted that Kabosu "ascended to heaven" to join Harambe, the gorilla who captured the hearts of the online community and became a meme in 2016 after a zoo employee was forced to shoot him after he grabbed a young boy who had entered his enclosure.

While DOGE initially emerged as a joke and a parody of Bitcoin (utilizing BTC code in its creation), over the past 7-8 years, the meme coin has gained recognition from Elon Musk. His support has provided significant momentum, promoting its adoption as a payment option and transforming it from a mere meme into a legitimate digital currency.

Markus and Musk frequently engage in discussions on X, and Shibetoshi Nakamoto often endorses the X owner and his efforts to transform the former Twitter into the ultimate "everything app," X, incorporating the Grok AI chatbot.