In 2010, two years after adopting the shiba inu, Sato posted a picture on her blog of Kabosu crossing her paws on the sofa and giving the camera a beguiling look.
That image became the “Doge” meme – and later an NFT digital artwork that sold for US$4 million.
“She is pulling a weird face,” Sato laughs. “Now I think she looks really nice” in the famous photo but “at first I thought it could be trashed”.
Atsuko Sato and her Japanese shiba inu dog Kabosu, whose picture spawned online memes that led to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin being created, greet children at a kindergarten in Narita, east of Tokyo. Photo: AFP
The meme grew from an online forum post into an anarchic in-joke that bounced from college bedrooms to office emails.
“One of my friends messaged me: ‘Isn’t this picture Kabosu?’ Then I searched for it and found all sorts of memes, like Kabosu turning into a doughnut,” Sato says.
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The 62-year-old is now so used to “unbelievable” events that when Tesla boss Musk changed the icon for Twitter, now X, to Kabosu’s face last year, she “wasn’t even that surprised”.
“In the last few years I’ve been able to connect the online version of Kabosu, all these unexpected things seen from a distance, with our real lives.”
Kabosu spends most days resting in a cart at the kindergarten or on a big cushion at home, where fan-made Doge tributes adorn the walls.
Kabosu in her cart sitting in front of a manhole cover featuring her image at a park in Sakura, eastern Tokyo. Photo: AFP
The memes typically use goofy broken English to reveal the inner thoughts of Kabosu and other shiba inu “doge” – usually pronounced like pizza “dough” but with a “j” at the end.
“Very love. Such star OMG. So heart. Much drawing,” says one framed print using this signature “doge speak”.
Kabosu fell ill with leukaemia and liver disease at the end of 2022, and Sato is sure the “invisible power” of prayers from fans worldwide helped her pull through.
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Atsuko Sato with Kabosu at a statue of the dog recently installed in Sakura, eastern Tokyo. Photo: AFP
Then, in November 2023, a US$100,000 statue of Kabosu and her sofa crowdfunded by Own The Doge, a cryptocurrency organisation dedicated to the meme, was unveiled in a park in Sakura.
Sato and Own The Doge have also donated large sums to international charities, including more than US$1 million to Save the Children. The NGO says it is “the single largest cryptocurrency contribution” it has ever received.
“The Doge is the most popular dog of the modern era,” says Tridog, a pseudonymous member of Own The Doge, describing Kabosu as “the Mona Lisa of the internet”.
Tridog, a member of Own the Doge, wearing a Doge mask in Los Angeles, California. Photo: AFP
Dogecoin was started as a joke by two software engineers and is now the world’s eighth most valuable cryptocurrency, with a market cap of US$23 billion.
“The Doge meme was pretty big on the internet in 2013 and I spent a lot of time on Reddit and other forums back then,” says Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus.
Markus, who is no longer affiliated with Dogecoin, was amused by the “silliness and innocence” of the memes.
Fellow founder Jackson Palmer “drank a beer and saw the doge meme and bitcoin in the news and thought saying he was gonna invest in Dogecoin would make a funny tweet”, he said.
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A Dogecoin featuring the face of Kabosu. Photo: Shutterstock
Markus found the idea hilarious and created the coin in “a few hours” before contacting Palmer and taking it live.
“Lots of weird stuff happened after that,” he says.
Since then, Dogecoin has been backed by stoner hip-hop king Snoop Dogg, Shark Tank entrepreneur Mark Cuban and rock band Kiss’ bassist Gene Simmons, who once tweeted: “I bought Dogecoin … six figures.”
But its most keen supporter is probably the billionaire Musk, who jokes about the currency on X – sending its value soaring – and hails it as “the people’s cryptocurrency”.
A sticker of Kabosu on the car of her owner, Atsuko Sato. Photo: AFP
Dogecoin has also inspired a plethora of other cheap and highly volatile “meme coins”, including spin-off Shiba Inu and others based on dogs, cats or Donald Trump.
A solitary figure wearing a Doge mask looks out over the Los Angeles skyline – this is Tridog, who says he has “worked for a dog photograph for almost three years”.
Own The Doge is his full-time job, and he preaches its motto D.O.G.E, or “Do Only Good Everyday”.
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When Kabosu dies, “the world will mourn”, Tridog says, but “a legend always lives on”. Photo: AFP
In 2021, Sato sold the viral photo of Kabosu as a non-fungible token (NFT), a digital ownership certificate that can be traded online, to a group of cryptocurrency art collectors called PleasrDAO for US$4.2 million.
That makes it “a top-five most expensive photo ever sold”, Tridog says.
PleasrDAO split the NFT’s value into a brand-new meme coin called $DOG, allowing many people to collectively “own” the meme.
Own The Doge has brought fans and other meme stars to Japan to meet Kabosu and Sato, and it recently secured the intellectual property rights to the famous photo, paving the way to make Doge toys, films and other products.
As a rescue dog, Kabosu’s real birthday is unknown, but Sato estimates her age at 18 – past the average lifespan for a shiba inu.
When Kabosu dies, “the world will mourn”, Tridog says, but “a legend always lives on”.
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He hopes people will remember “the deeper values” behind the Doge meme: “the wholesomeness, the silliness, the not taking yourself too seriously.”
Memecoins took center stage on one of the best days for the cryptocurrency market, with the likes of Pepe PEPE/USD and Bonk BONK/USD turning out to be the highest gainers.
What Happened: The market rallied on higher expectations of an Ethereum ETH/USD spot ETF approval by the SEC, resulting in the highest market cap growth in three months, according to Santiment.
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Price Action: While the rally was spurred by developments around Ether, memecoins stole the highlight yet again, as popular coins like PEPE and BONK grew by 27% and 23% respectively, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Ethereum ETH/USD-based PEPE rose to an all-time high of $0.000011, while the SolanaSOL/USD-based meme coin BONK bumped to a two-month high of $0.000031. The rest of the meme coin market also reported significant gains.
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Cryptocurrency
Gains +/-
Price (Recorded at 10 p.m. EST)
BonkBONK/USD
+27%
$0.000031
PepePEPE/USD
+23%
$0.000011
FlokiFLOKI/USD
+10.48%
$0.000211
Pepe’s trading volume surged to $2.16 billion in the last 24 hours, exceeding bigger coins with larger market caps like Dogecoin DOGE/USD and XRP XRP/USD, Bonk clocked a volume of $850 million, trumping Shiba InuSHIB/USD
Why It Matters: The latest rally reflected a strong appetite for meme coins, the class of cryptocurrencies that has witnessed significant gains in the year.
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Social analytics platform LunarCrush highlighted bullish social media discourse around the two coins, with 82% of all BONK posts, and 80% of PEPE posts being positively weighted.
Such degrees of optimism could potentially help sustain the rally for the two meme coins.
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Image via Shutterstock
Read Next: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Shoot Up On One Of The Best Days For Crypto In 2024 Amid Ether ETF Approval Buzz: Analyst Flags ‘Robust’ US Investor Demand for King Crypto
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
In a recent video titled “Humility,” Charles Hoskinson, Co-Founder and CEO of IOG (Input Output Global), shared his insights on humility, the current political landscape in the United States, and its implications for the cryptocurrency industry. This blog post delves into Hoskinson’s key points, especially his views on former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden, as well as his call to action for the 2024 election.
Hoskinson starts by addressing a Reddit post that critiques him for lacking humility. He clarifies that while he strives to be a decent person who acknowledges others’ contributions, true humility involves recognizing the value of viewpoints other than one’s own. He admits that his logical, mathematical mindset can sometimes obscure the complexities of real-world perspectives.
The Reddit post suggests that Hoskinson struggles with admitting the validity of differing viewpoints. It argues that his approach to logical reasoning might lead to a misunderstanding of the nature of reality and other perspectives. Hoskinson agrees that humility is about recognizing potential misperceptions and valuing other viewpoints.
Hoskinson criticizes the Biden administration for its definitive anti-crypto stance. He attributes this position to a deal made between Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren during the 2020 presidential campaign. Warren, a staunch opponent of cryptocurrency, was given control over domestic treasury policy, leading to the appointment of many anti-crypto officials in the Treasury Department.
He highlights the administration’s systematic efforts to unbank cryptocurrency companies, evidenced by Wells notices against major players like Robinhood, Coinbase, Uniswap, Kraken, and Binance. Hoskinson points out a clear trend of hostility towards the industry.
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Despite the cryptocurrency industry’s extensive efforts to engage with the Biden administration through meetings, open letters, and private discussions, Hoskinson believes the administration remains unyielding and duplicitous. While claiming to be open to dialogue, the administration has aggressively worked to undermine the industry.
Hoskinson asserts that the Biden administration’s policies have created significant challenges for the cryptocurrency industry, including driving businesses abroad and treating crypto users as criminals.
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Hoskinson contrasts the Biden administration’s hostility with the relatively neutral stance of the Trump administration. While the Trump administration did not provide regulatory clarity, it did not exhibit the same level of adversarial actions toward the cryptocurrency industry.
Hoskinson suggests that a potential Trump victory in the next election might not lead to the same level of hostility towards the industry as seen under Biden. However, he emphasizes the importance of electing pro-crypto candidates regardless of their party affiliation.
Hoskinson endorses Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) for the presidency, arguing that the American people deserve better leadership than what is currently offered by both Trump and Biden. He believes RFK represents a much-needed alternative.
Hoskinson stresses the importance of the 2024 election for the future of the cryptocurrency industry. He argues that the political consequences of opposing cryptocurrency should be made clear. If anti-crypto stances result in electoral losses, politicians will be forced to reconsider their positions.
Hoskinson argues that the issue at hand is not about humility but about policy. The cryptocurrency industry has consistently approached the government with humility, presenting well-reasoned arguments and data. However, the administration’s actions suggest a predetermined decision to oppose cryptocurrency, regardless of the industry’s efforts.
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In his closing remarks, Hoskinson calls on the cryptocurrency community to vote for pro-crypto candidates in the 2024 election, regardless of their political affiliation. He emphasizes the importance of preserving liberty and freedom and urges the community to fight for a better future.
The cryptocurrency market seems to be stagnating over the last few days. Bitcoin (BTC) is struggling to overcome the $67,000 level, while the global crypto market cap is hovering around $2.5 trillion.
However, with cooler-than-anticipated inflation numbers in the US, we may witness a surge in the crypto market over the next week. With that said, let’s look at three crypto assets to watch for the end of this month.
Top3 cryptocurrencies to watch in May-end 2024
Bitcoin (BTC):Source: embca.com
BTC has rallied by 8.3% in the weekly charts, 3.6% in the 14-day charts, and 4% over the previous month. However, the asset has faced a nearly 1% correction in the daily charts.
Source: CoinGecko
Also Read: Top 3 Cryptocurrencies to Buy Now with NVIDIA’s Earnings Around the Corner
According to CoinCodex, BTC could hit a new all-time high this week, surpassing the $74,000 level by May 23, 2024. Moreover, the platform anticipates the original cryptocurrency to hit $79,493 on May 31, 2024. Hitting $79,493 from current levels would translate to a growth of about 19.2%.
Source: CoinCodex
Changelly also predicts BTC to hit a new all-time high this week. Moreover, the platform predicts BTC to surpass the $80,000 level by the end of this month, hitting $80,131 on May 31, 2024.
Shiba Inu (SHIB):
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Source: Twitter
Shiba Inu (SHIB) is another popular cryptocurrency that has struggled to gain momentum over the last few days. SHIB is facing significant resistance at around $0.000025. However, the asset may turn the tide very soon.
Also Read: Cryptocurrency: Top 3 Dogcoins For Maximum Profits
According to CoinCodex, SHIB could surge to $0.00003551 on May 31, 2024. Hitting $0.00003551 from current levels would lead to a price spike of about 47.6%.
Source: CoinCodex
Changelly also paints a bullish picture for SHIB over the next few weeks. The platform expects SHIB to hit $0.00003769 on May 31, 2024, a rise of about 56.4% from current levels.
Avalanche (AVAX):Source: Binance Academy
AVAX is another popular cryptocurrency that may witness a price spike by the end of this month. According to CoinCodex, AVAX could surge to $52.17 on May 31, 2024. Hitting $52.17 from current levels would entail a growth of nearly 45%.
Source: CoinCodex
Changelly also presents a bullish prediction for AVAX over the next few weeks. The platform anticipates the cryptocurrency to hit $55.73 on May 31, 2024.
