Elon Musk Said SpaceX Will Literally Put Dogecoin on Moon, Is It an April Fools' Day Prank?

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday that the company aims to put "a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon."

Musk is an ardent supporter of cryptocurrencies and even purchased some for his nine-month-old baby. Tesla revealed in February that it had acquired $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. Tesla will recognize it as payment for its vehicles a month later, according to Musk.

Elon Musk Did Not Tweet It For The First Time; Is He Joking?

This isn't the first time Musk has mentioned putting money on the moon. He often tweets memes featuring Shibu Inus, the "doge" dog breed that is the symbol and name of the cryptocurrency. He also reported that he intends to purchase a Shibu Inu.

Musk didn't say if he wanted to carry a physical dogecoin coin to the moon, which is sold as collectibles but doesn't act as money.

Cryptocurrency news site Cointelegraph said none of the 12 people who have walked on the moon have carried any money with them.

While some questioned whether Musk was kidding, given April Fools' Day and his history of making off-the-cuff remarks, others believed Musk might be telling the facts.

It's unclear if Musk was serious about sending Dogecoin to the moon. Still, considering the company's lunar exploration plans, it's possible. Elon Musk's statement resulted in a major price increase for the cryptocurrency.

Caitlin Ostroff of The Wall Street Journal reported that the current value of Dogecoin has risen by more than 13 percent.

"Cryptocurrency Dogecoin, which was created as a bitcoin parody, shot up 13% after Tesla boss Elon Musk tweeted that his company, SpaceX, is "going to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon," she tweeted.

According to Space.com, SpaceX's Starship spacecraft could cross the lunar surface with NASA payloads as early as 2022. NASA announced in February that SpaceX will provide launch services for parts of its ongoing Gateway project, which is a planned outpost orbiting the moon.

SpaceX plans to launch the first private civilian mission to the moon soon, with passengers selected by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.

Dogecoin to the Moon? What is That?

The Independent said the term "to the Moon" is commonly used by cryptocurrency and stock enthusiasts to describe their aspirations for a price rise. Others, such as YouTuber Mr. Beast, have joked that putting a cryptocurrency on the surface in some form would be appropriate.

Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies are digital assets stored in a digital network rather than physical artifacts, Investopedia explained. However, actual coins have been created from virtual currencies in the past. So the task could be accomplished with only one such coin or a hard drive containing unique parts.

Check out more news and information on SpaceX on Science Times.