A fire emoji from Elon Musk has sent Russell, a cryptocurrency token inspired by the Coinbase co-founder’s pet dog up by more than 240% in 24 hours.

The chain of events started after Brian Armstrong, CEO and co-founder of Coinbase, posted a family picture that included him, his wife, and their white Akita Inu pet dog. 

The X account for Russell, which calls itself “The Coinbase Dog” and “The Goodest Boy on @Base,” Coinbase’s layer-2 blockchain, wrote under the post, “We like ur socks.”

Musk responded with a fire emoji, and within hours, traders piled into the Russell token, pushing it to its highest level so far this year.

Musk’s meme magic continues

Musk’s impact on cryptocurrency valuations is well-documented, with his posts impacting major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin in the past both positively and negatively. 

He is known for actively promoting the memecoin Dogecoin and took that drive into the White House. 

Following Donald Trump’s election victory in November, Dogecoin rose from $0.15 to $0.43 within days, thanks to speculation that Musk was going to be appointed to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, whose acronym conveniently matched Dogecoin’s ticker symbol. The token reached a three-year high of $0.48 in early December 2024.

When Musk replied with “D.O.G.E.” at a Pennsylvania town hall, Dogecoin experienced a significant jump. 

The Russell token itself experienced a previous viral moment in October when an artificial intelligence bot called Terminal of Truths mentioned the name while interacting with Armstrong on social media. 

Russell emerged from Armstrong’s October wedding photographs, which featured the white Akita Inu walking down the aisle alongside the Coinbase chief and his wife, Angela Meng. 

The token is traded within the Base ecosystem, and some exchanges, including WEEX and XT, have also listed it on their platforms.

Speculation trumps fundamentals

Despite the significant progress the crypto industry has made, the latest rally Russell is currently experiencing highlights the market’s susceptibility to the influence of high-profile figures like Musk, particularly in the memecoin space. 

The inauguration of President Trump in January 2025, coupled with the increasing popularity of memecoin launchpads like Pump.fun around that period, sent the memecoin market to one of its highest levels in years. 

However, that rally came crashing a few weeks later after major celebrity-backed tokens like the TRUMP, MELANIA, and LIBRA tokens were rugged, causing losses running into millions of dollars. 

Just like the events of early this year, trading volumes and prices continue to respond swiftly to social media signals, creating opportunities for quick gains but also exposing investors to substantial downside risks.

The Russell token had previously reached an all-time high of $0.0262 on November 24, 2024, meaning the current price, which was over $0.0114 as of the time of writing, remains well below that peak despite the latest surge, according to CoinMarketCap.

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