The markets were shocked by the news that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was stepping down as CEO of the chipmaker he co-founded 33 years ago and built into a $4 trillion company that powered the artificial intelligence boom.
The development triggered widespread reactions on social media, with Dogecoin cofounder Billy Markus commenting on one of those related posts. Markus’s participation in the discussion, which seemed outside crypto, drew a response from an X user who seemed surprised at his interest in the matter.
"I thought you were a dog," the X user said, obviously referring to his connection with Dogecoin, a dog-themed cryptocurrency launched in December 2013 by Markus himself and Jackson Palmer as a lighthearted alternative to Bitcoin.
Kabosu, a Japanese Shiba Inu, inspired the viral "doge" meme, became the face of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, and passed away in 2024.
In another X reply, the Dogecoin cofounder reiterated that "Billy is a Shiba Inu with glasses."
Markus’s response is a tribute to Dogecoin’s lasting association with its early internet meme roots, with the Shiba Inu dog integral to the cryptocurrency’s identity. The Dogecoin cofounder's response also serves as a reminder of the playful personality that helped distinguish Dogecoin from other digital assets during its early years.
Dogecoin in red
The markets slumped early Friday as traders priced in a Fed rate increase next month, strengthening the dollar, raising bond yields and making riskier assets less attractive.
Thursday's resignation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also impacted the crypto market and sent shares of the AI chip maker, the world’s second-largest company by market cap, tumbling 4%. At the time of writing, Dogecoin was down 0.93% in the last 24 hours to $0.0659 and down 7% weekly.
Leveraged traders took the brunt, as liquidations surged 150% to $1.4 billion, with longs making up the majority of the wipeout at $1.16 billion while shorts came in at $245 million.
