Dogecoin rockets 59% higher after Elon Musk backs the cryptocurrency in return to Twitter

• Dogecoin leaped 59% on Thursday after Elon Musk returned to Twitter and backed the meme-based token.
• Tesla's CEO called dogecoin "the people's crypto," adding "no highs, no lows, only Doge."
• Musk's tweets have lifted everything from GameStop to Etsy in recent weeks.
• Watch dogecoin trade live here.

Dogecoin soared on Thursday after Tesla CEO Elon Musk returned to Twitter and endorsed the joke-based cryptocurrency.

The token leaped as high as $0.0597 and traded roughly 59% higher from where it stood 24 hours ago. Growing demand among retail investors and January's broad crypto rally has lifted dogecoin throughout 2021. The coin is currently up more than 800% year-to-date.

After saying on Tuesday he would be "off Twitter for a while," Musk returned to the platform early Thursday morning and posted an edited image from the movie "Lion King" that showed himself holding up the Doge meme. He followed up the photo with the simple message "Dogecoin is the people's crypto."

"No highs, no lows, only Doge," he added.

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To be sure, the meme-based cryptocurrency remains far from the record highs it set last month. Prices exploded higher in late January as retail traders convening in online forums collectively bid up dogecoin. The token hit an all-time high of $0.0792 on January 28 before tumbling back below $0.03.

Musk's tweets have recently taken on new relevance in financial markets. Shares of micro-cap tech company Signal Advance spiked higher in January after Musk tweeted "use Signal," likely referring to the encrypted messaging service instead of the small firm.

Etsy surged later that month after Musk said on Twitter that he "kinda loves" the handmade goods marketplace.

Perhaps most famously, the Tesla CEO helped GameStop shares rip higher during the Reddit-trader saga by simply tweeting "GameStonk!!" and a link to the investing forum r/wallstreetbets.

Musk's endorsements haven't been relegated to the stock market. The world's wealthiest person changed his Twitter bio to "Bitcoin" in January as prices began to swing higher.

Musk has publicly backed dogecoin before. The token ripped higher after the chief executive simply said "One word: Doge" in a December tweet.

Dogecoin traded at $0.0495 as of 8:20 a.m. ET Thursday.

Read more: The GameStop mania driven by Reddit traders isn't simple market trolling. It's a populist movement threatening to disrupt the financial system to a degree Occupy Wall Street only dreamed of.