#DOGE Musk strikes again

When Musk's name is associated with cryptocurrency, the market is never short of waves, but this time his actions regarding DOGE (Dogecoin) have plunged the entire ecosystem into an unprecedented "split"—the miner community is collectively anxious, retail communities are in endless debates, and DOGE, once united by "meme faith," is now at a crossroads between "practical transformation" and "departure from its original intention." This chain reaction triggered by Musk is completely rewriting the survival logic of DOGE.
Musk's "Key Step": From "Shouting Orders" to "Deep Binding"
Unlike the previous "one-liner hype" on social media platforms, Musk's recent actions are directly targeting the core ecosystem of DOGE. According to internal Tesla news and blockchain industry disclosures, two initiatives led by Musk have been implemented: First, some Tesla supercharging stations have begun testing DOGE payments, and it has been explicitly stated that they will "optimize the transaction speed of DOGE to accommodate high-frequency payment scenarios"; second, SpaceX has reached a partnership with the core DOGE development team, planning to integrate DOGE into the "small settlement system related to space exploration supply chains," with the first applications covering cross-border small payments for satellite component procurement.
These two moves have completely shattered the attribute of DOGE as a "pure speculative asset." Previously, while DOGE became one of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization due to Musk's endorsement, it always lacked practical application scenarios. Issues like slow transaction speeds and unstable fees made it difficult to shed the "meme coin" label. However, this latest connection with Tesla and SpaceX not only injects "utility value" into DOGE but also pushes it towards a transformation into a "payment cryptocurrency"—market data shows that within 48 hours of the announcement, the number of on-chain transactions for DOGE surged by 320%, with the proportion of "micro-payment transactions" jumping from less than 5% to 28%, setting a new historical high.
Miners vs Retail Investors: A Dispute About "Interests" and "Beliefs"
Elon Musk's actions have sparked huge controversy within DOGE, with the divide between miners and retail investors rapidly escalating, and major cryptocurrency forums and communities have become a "battleground."
Miners: "Collective Opposition" Under Hashrate Anxiety
For DOGE miners, Musk's push for "payment transformation" can be considered "bearish". DOGE uses the Scrypt algorithm, and miners' earnings mainly rely on "block rewards + transaction fees". The "optimization of transaction speed" promoted by Tesla and SpaceX essentially requires a reduction in DOGE's block confirmation time—currently, DOGE's block time is about 1 minute, and to accommodate high-frequency payments, it needs to be shortened to 10-15 seconds, which means that miners' hash power output efficiency will be diluted.
More importantly, Tesla plans to build a "DOGE exclusive node cluster" to ensure payment stability, enhancing transaction processing capacity through centralized nodes. This move has directly triggered concerns among miners about "hash power monopoly." A leader of a major DOGE mining farm openly stated on social media: "Musk's node cluster will occupy more than 70% of the transaction validation rights, and ordinary miners' fee income will plummet by 50%. The cost of the mining machines we invested in may not be recoverable." Data also corroborates this anxiety: After the announcement, DOGE hash power experienced unusual fluctuations, with some small and medium-sized mining farms starting to shut down. The overall network hash power dropped by 18% within 24 hours, and the price in the second-hand mining machine market plummeted by 30%.
Retail Investors: The "Internal Split" between Believers and Speculators
The divergence among retail investors is more complex, presenting a dichotomy of "faith-based cheer and speculative panic."
The "faith faction" believes that Musk's actions have realized DOGE's "original intention." Many early retail holders of DOGE stated that they initially chose DOGE because they believed in its attributes of "decentralization and proximity to ordinary users." The collaboration with Tesla and SpaceX has transformed DOGE from a "joke coin" into a "currency that can truly be used." An administrator from a DOGE community mentioned in an interview: "We have been waiting for this day for 5 years. DOGE no longer relies on 'Musk's words' for its price fluctuations but has its own value support — that's what long-term holding should look like."
But retail investors who are "speculators" have fallen into panic. This group of investors mostly entered the market during a surge in DOGE in 2023, with the core demand being "short-term arbitrage." Although Musk's push for "payment transformation" led to a short-term price increase (after the news was announced, DOGE's price surged by 45%), it also means that the price volatility of DOGE may narrow—prices of practical cryptocurrencies rely more on the "implementation progress of application scenarios" rather than "market sentiment speculation." A retail investor complained on a forum: "I bought DOGE to make quick money, but now it has become a 'payment coin', the price rises slowly and is not stable, Musk has cut off our financial lifeline!"
Has DOG changed? There are still three major uncertainties in the future.
Although Musk's actions have created an opportunity for DOGE, whether this "change" can be sustained still faces three major uncertainties.
Firstly, the stability of the application scenario is questionable. The DOGE payment test at Tesla's Supercharger stations only covers a limited range of products priced at 3 DOGE, specifically "charging service fees", and does not extend to the purchase of entire vehicles; SpaceX's supply chain settlement application is also in the "small-scale pilot" stage and has not yet achieved scalability. If the subsequent application advancement does not meet expectations, it could lead to the dilemma of DOGE's practical value being nullified.
Secondly, regulatory risks cannot be ignored. DOGE has previously been classified by the U.S. SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) as a "potential security asset" due to its "lack of actual value". Now that it is transitioning to a "payment currency", it may trigger stricter financial regulations - the EU's Market in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) clearly states that "cryptocurrencies used for payments must meet compliance requirements such as anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing", while DOGE's current anonymous transaction attribute may struggle to pass regulatory scrutiny. If forced to adjust its algorithm, it will further impact the ecosystem of miners and users.
Thirdly, the loss of the "decentralized" attribute. The "node cluster" promoted by Musk is essentially a "semi-centralized" model, which contradicts the original "decentralized" philosophy of DOGE. If in the future Tesla and SpaceX further control the nodes and transaction validation rights of DOGE, the "exclusive token of the Musk-affiliated enterprises" will lose the core value of cryptocurrency — this is also the concern of many long-term holders about the "deviation from the original intention."
Conclusion: A Game of "Transformation" and "Growing Pains"
Elon Musk's actions have placed DOGE at a turning point in its fate. It is no longer just a "meme coin," but it has not yet become a mature "payment currency"; the damage to miners' interests and the divergence of retail investors' beliefs indicate that DOGE's path to "transformation" is bound to be filled with growing pains.
For investors, it is important to recognize that the value of DOGE has shifted from "Elon Musk's endorsement" to "the ability to implement use cases". Short-term price fluctuations should not be the core of decision-making. For the DOGE ecosystem, how to balance "practical transformation" with "miner interests" and "centralized efficiency" with "decentralized original intention" will be key to determining whether it can truly "change the game". The final outcome of this game may only become clear after the applications of Tesla and SpaceX are fully implemented.
#DOGE Go Go Go $DOGE