Mask returns again

When Musk's name is associated with cryptocurrencies, the market is never short of turmoil, but his recent moves towards DOGE ( the dog coin ) have pushed the entire ecosystem into an unprecedented "split" - where mining groups suffer from collective anxiety, individual investor communities are endlessly at odds, and DOGE, which was rallying around the "meme faith", stands at the crossroads of "turning to use" and "moving away from assets". This series of reactions triggered by Musk is completely rewriting the rationale for DOGE's existence.
Musk's "key" step: from "screaming" to "deep connection"
Unlike the usual "one-liner price hikes" on social media platforms, Musk's recent moves are directly targeting the underlying ecosystem of DOGE. According to internal information from Tesla and disclosures in the blockchain industry, two initiatives led by Musk have been implemented: first, some of Tesla's fast-charging stations have begun testing the acceptance of payments using DOGE, confirming that they will "enhance the speed of DOGE transactions to suit high-frequency payment scenarios"; second, SpaceX has reached a collaboration with the core team to develop DOGE, where DOGE is set to be integrated into a "small payment settlement system related to space exploration", with initial applications including small cross-border payments for purchasing satellite components.
These two steps have completely shattered the notion of "DOGE as a purely speculative tool". Previously, DOGE became one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization thanks to Elon Musk's endorsement, but it always lacked actual usage scenarios, as transaction speeds were slow and transaction fees were unstable, making it difficult to escape the classification of "meme coins". With the connection to Tesla and SpaceX, this not only added "practical value" to DOGE but also propelled it towards becoming "a cryptocurrency as a means of payment" - market data shows that after the news was published, the number of transactions on the DOGE network increased by 320% within 48 hours, with the proportion of "small payment transactions" rising from less than 5% to 28%, achieving an all-time high.
Miners vs Individual Investors: A Debate on "Interests" and "Beliefs"
Musk's actions have sparked tremendous controversy within DOGE, and the disputes between miners and individual investors quickly reached their peak, with major cryptocurrency forums and communities turning into "battlegrounds."
Workers: "Collective Opposition" Under Pressure from Mining Power
For DOGE miners, the "shift towards payments" driven by Musk is considered "negative." DOGE relies on the Scrypt algorithm, and miners' yields primarily depend on "block reward + transaction fees." On the other hand, the "improvement of transaction speed" pushed by Tesla and SpaceX requires reducing the block confirmation time in DOGE - where the current block time for DOGE is about one minute, and if it is to adapt to high-frequency payments, it must be reduced to 10-15 seconds, which means that the efficiency of mining power production for miners will be affected.
Most importantly, Tesla plans to build a "custom node group for DOGE" to ensure payment stability by enhancing transaction processing capabilities through centralized nodes. This move has raised concerns among miners about "computational power monopoly." A representative from one of the largest DOGE mines candidly expressed on a social media platform: "Musk's node group will control over 70% of transaction verification rights, and the transaction fee profits for ordinary miners will drop by 50%, and we may not be able to recover the cost of the mining machines we invested in." Data also confirms this concern: after the news was published, unusual fluctuations occurred in DOGE's computational power, and some small to medium-sized mines began to shut down, with the network's computational power dropping by 18% within 24 hours, while the prices of used mining machines decreased by 30%.
Individual investors: "The internal divide" between believers and speculators
The opinions of a group of individual investors are more complex, showing a divide between "believers who cheer, and speculators who feel panic."
The "faith group" believes that Musk's steps have achieved the "main goal" for DOGE. Many early DOGE holders among small investors indicated that they originally chose DOGE because they believed in its "decentralized and user-friendly" characteristics, and its collaboration with Tesla and SpaceX has transformed DOGE from a "joke currency" into a "currency that can really be used." One DOGE community manager mentioned in an interview: "We have waited for this day for 5 years, and finally DOGE is no longer dependent on 'Musk's word' for its ups and downs, but has its own supportive value - this is how long-term holding should look."
But the "speculators" among small investors fell into a state of panic. Most of these investors entered the market during the major surge of DOGE in 2023, and the main demand is "to make quick profits." Although the "shift towards payment" driven by Musk has led to a short-term price increase, after the announcement of the news, the price of DOGE rose by 45% at once, it also means that the price volatility of DOGE may decrease - as the price of practical cryptocurrencies relies more on the "progress of scenario applications" rather than on "market manipulation of emotions." One small investor complained in the forum: "I bought DOGE to make money quickly, and now it has become a 'payment currency', and the prices are rising slowly and are unreliable, Musk has cut off our path to profit!"
Has DOG changed? There are still three main uncertainties for the future.
Although Musk's moves have created a "DOGE model opportunity", the ongoing "change" still faces three uncertainties.
First, there are doubts about the stability of the scenario applications. The payment test with DOGE at Tesla's fast charging stations only covers a service fee of 3 DOGE and has not been expanded to include the purchase of cars entirely; also, the SpaceX supply chain settlement application is still in a "limited trial" phase and has not yet reached a wide scope. If the applications do not progress in the future as expected, they will face a "lack of viability for the value of DOGE."
Secondly, the risks of regulation cannot be ignored. DOGE was previously classified by the (SEC) as a "potential security asset" due to its "lack of real value". Now, with the shift to a "payment currency", this could result in stricter financial oversight - as the EU's regulation on crypto asset markets, (MiCA), clearly states that "crypto assets used for payments must comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing requirements", while it may be difficult for DOGE, with its current characteristics of anonymous transactions, to pass regulatory review, and if forced to modify its algorithm, this would further impact the environment for miners and users.
Thirdly, the loss of the "decentralization" feature. The "node aggregation" that Musk is pushing is essentially a "semi-centralized" model, which contradicts the original concept of "decentralization" for DOGE. If Tesla and SpaceX take control of more nodes and transaction verification rights for DOGE in the future, then Musk's "DOGE token" will lose the fundamental value of cryptocurrencies - this is also what concerns a number of long-term holders about "deviating from principles".
Conclusion: A struggle between "transformation" and "pain"
Musk's actions have placed DOGE at a turning point in its destiny. It is no longer just a "meme coin," but it has not yet become a mature "payment coin"; the interests of miners have been harmed and the faith of small investors has varied, indicating that the path of "changing DOGE" is fraught with pain.
For investors, they must be aware: the value of DOGE has shifted from "support from Musk" to "application scenario capability", and short-term price fluctuations should not be the essence of decision-making; regarding the DOGE environment, how to balance "transition to use" and "miners' interests", and "centralization efficiency" versus "the fundamental principle of decentralization" will be key to determining whether the "situation" can really "change". We may not be able to know the final outcome of this game until Tesla and SpaceX are fully implemented.
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