The dog who inspired the famous meme coin Dogecoin has died, according to a . Kabosu, an adorable Shiba Inu, was likely around 18 years old, though owner Atsuko Sato doesn’t know the exact birthdate of the rescue pup.
“She quietly passed away as if asleep while I caressed her,” she wrote in a blog post . “I think Kabo-chan was the happiest dog in the world. And I was the happiest owner.”
The Japanese dog not only inspired Dogecoin, but the iconic 2010 photo became the source of a vast collection of internet memes. Some have even called Kabosu the “Mona Lisa of the internet.” Sato snapped the photo two years after rescuing the dog from a puppy farm, in which she would have likely been put down. The image shows Kabosu with her paws on the sofa while giving the camera, well, a sort of grin.
The photo became an NFT digital artwork that sold for $4 million, back when NFTs were a thing that people paid money for. As for the memecoin, it started as a joke by two software engineers but has now risen to be the eighth-most valuable cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $23 billion. The price , likely by news of Kabosu’s passing.
Dogecoin was most famously backed by Elon Musk, even becoming available as currency . Other famous backers include Snoop Dogg, Gene Simmons and Mark Cuban, to name just a few.
Dogecoin has also inspired a bunch of other memecoins, from the spin-off Shiba Inu coin to cryptocurrency coins based on cats, Elon Musk and, sigh, . These coins are known to be highly volatile, so invest at your own risk. Dogecoin, however, has remained mostly stable for a while now.
Musk has long-been the primary cheerleader behind Dogecoin, even to the image of the Shiba Inu, before he pivoted to X. He also single-handily wiped out most of the coin’s value and has been accused of using it to .
A statue of Kabosu in November of last year. Reporting indicates that it cost $100,000 to build. “In the last few years I’ve been able to connect the online version of Kabosu, all these unexpected things seen from a distance, with our real lives,” Sato wrote. She has used the virality of her beloved Shiba inu to donate large sums to charities, including more than $1 million to . Godspeed, you adorable pup.
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