How Elon Musk caused Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and BNB to spike again on Monday

Talk about crypto payments on Twitter is heating up.

| More on:
A graphic image of three upward pointing arrows with smoke coming from their bottoms, indicating the arrows are taking off just like the Althea share price today

Image source: Getty Images

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened 

Elon Musk has owned Twitter for less than a week and he's already caused volatility to spike in some corners of the crypto market. It's no secret that Musk has long toyed with using Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) in some way in previous ventures and the speculation is that he'll use it at Twitter, albeit without any facts to back up wild moves. 

That hasn't stopped traders from bidding up potential winners of the Twitter deal on Monday. Dogecoin is up 10.6% in the last 24 hours as of 2:30 p.m. ET but at one time was down 10.3% in the last day, BNB (CRYPTO: BNB) is up 3.8% after falling 5.6%, and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) is up 3.1% after dropping 5.1% at its low. 

So what 

I'll start with what we know to be true. Binance was part of Twitter's funding, contributing about $500 million to the deal. It's not clear exactly what Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao sees in Twitter, but there are many potential opportunities. He said recently that Twitter users could be charged "very easily globally using cryptocurrencies" for services on the app. It's also been widely reported that Twitter's engineers are quickly developing a paid verification system. 

BNB, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu are all rising on speculation that they could be part of any Twitter payment infrastructure. But there's still no news out from Twitter, Musk, or any of these tokens about any payment infrastructure existing at all. And even if they did, it's not clear that a company like Twitter using a cryptocurrency to get money from one person to another would actually increase the value of the token itself. 

Unsurprisingly, the move in these cryptocurrencies over the past week has been pure speculation, sparked by their association with Musk. But that's part of the cryptocurrency market and that's likely to be the case for the foreseeable future. 

Now what 

Volatility and speculation are part of investing in cryptocurrencies, but the moves in BNB, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu over the past week have taken that to another level. 

Even if Twitter does begin using cryptocurrencies more, it's likely to start with more conservative cryptocurrencies like USD Coin (USDC), which it is already testing on the Polygon blockchain. The company partnered with Stripe earlier this year to allow creators to take payments in USDC, lowering barriers for international payments. 

There are other blockchains that would be lower cost and more widely accepted than BNB, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu, which are still relatively niche tokens right now. 

No matter what Twitter's moves are, I'm not sure there's ultimately a lot of value to be added by cryptocurrencies. I don't think the future of Twitter is building a digital economy, but rather moving money more efficiently around the world. Crypto could simply be how Twitter moves its money, not necessarily something users would hold long-term. That's why I think this speculative move is a reason to stay out of these cryptocurrencies until we know more about Twitter's crypto future. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

Scott just revealed what he believes could be the 'five best ASX stocks' for investors to buy right now. We believe these stocks are trading at attractive prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now...

See The 5 Stocks *Returns as of 30 April 2025

Travis Hoium has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.  

More on International Stock News

Delighted adult man, working on a company slogan, on his laptop.
International Stock News

Prediction: This artificial intelligence (AI) stock will be worth $5 trillion in 5 years

Amazon is integrating artificial intelligence (AI) across many areas of its business.

Read more »

Robot humanoid using artificial intelligence on a laptop.
International Stock News

Google must win at artificial intelligence or its search business could crumble. Does this make Alphabet an AI stock to buy?

Here's a deeper look into how Alphabet is faring in the battle for AI supremacy.

Read more »

A delivery man wearing a cap and smiling broadly delivers two boxes stacked on top of each other at the door of a female customer whose back can be seen at the edge of a doorway.
International Stock News

2 "Magnificent Seven" stocks billionaires are buying

The Magnificent Seven includes some of the most profitable and dominant tech companies in the world.

Read more »

Happy man working on his laptop.
International Stock News

Prediction: This artificial intelligence (AI) stock will be the biggest winner of 2025

Artificial intelligence will be one of the biggest growth opportunities this century.

Read more »

Legendary share market investing expert and owner of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett
International Stock News

Could Warren Buffett's last move as Berkshire Hathaway CEO be buying this beaten-down "Magnificent Seven" stock?

Buffett is a value investor at his core, and he doesn't often buy shares of expensive companies.

Read more »

A woman holds a soldering tool as she sits in front of a computer screen while working on the manufacturing of technology equipment in a laboratory environment.
International Stock News

Prediction: This artificial intelligence (AI) stock will be worth $5 trillion in 3 years

Let's take a closer look at the catalysts that could propel this stock toward that valuation.

Read more »

A woman sits at her computer with her chin resting on her hand as she contemplates her next potential investment.
International Stock News

This Artificial Intelligence (AI) chipmaker just got a game-changing boost from Amazon, and Nvidia investors should be paying close attention

Amazon just made a notable investment in Nvidia's top rival.

Read more »

Happy man working on his laptop.
International Stock News

A once-in-a-decade opportunity: Here's why I'm buying Alphabet stock like there's no tomorrow

Alphabet's stock rarely gets this cheap, and right now could be a once-in-a-decade opportunity to scoop up shares at a…

Read more »