Dogecoin Drops Over 9% On Friday Morning: What's Going On?

Dogecoin DOGE/USD tumbled 9.14% to $0.1726 on Friday as a public dispute between President Donald Trump and Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk sent shockwaves through cryptocurrency markets.

The meme cryptocurrency, which features a Shiba Inu logo and was created by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer in December 2013, dropped alongside broader crypto selloffs that saw Bitcoin BTC/USD fall 0.98% to $103,793 and Ethereum ETH/USD decline 5.08% to $2,75, as of 6:11 am Eastern Time. Total crypto market cap fell 3.77% to $3.18 trillion.

The market turbulence coincided with escalating tensions between Trump and Musk after the Tesla CEO criticized the president’s spending bill as a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional abomination” on social media. Trump retaliated by threatening to terminate billions in government contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.

"The sharp moves in TRUMP and DOGE demonstrate just how quickly political drama can move markets, especially when tied to cryptocurrencies with strong narrative-driven communities," said Jordan Major, author of the Finbold research. "As crypto markets mature, we're seeing them become more sensitive to real-world political headlines, and this latest episode is a prime example of that dynamic in action."

Why It Matters: Tesla shares plunged 14.3% on Thursday following Trump’s threats, but recovered 5.02%, trading at $298.9 in pre-market trading on Friday. Musk had departed his role as senior adviser at the Department of Government Efficiency just days before the public confrontation escalated.

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Dogecoin’s price sensitivity to Musk-related developments stems from the billionaire’s historical influence over the token. Musk began tweeting about Dogecoin in early 2021, calling it his “favorite coin” and triggering massive rallies culminating in his Saturday Night Live appearance.

The selloff triggered massive liquidations across crypto markets, with 226,781 traders liquidated in 24 hours totaling $979.88 million in forced position closures.

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