Shytoshi Kusama, the lead developer of Shiba Inu, has reacted to a recent tweet from Elon Musk that subtly references SHIB, contributing to the token’s rise to a nine-month high.

This weekend, billionaire Elon Musk sparked new optimism in the meme coin market by making several references to meme-inspired tokens such as Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, and BABYDOGE.

It all started with a post in which Musk shared an image of him carrying a boy on his shoulder, captioning it “DOGE” and “DOGE Junior.” In a follow-up post, Musk shared the image again, this time labeling himself as the “Dogefather” and the boy as “Dogeson.”

Crypto market participants quickly took note of Musk’s mentions. Dogecoin, Musk’s favorite meme coin, saw a 10% gain shortly after, reaching a price of $0.46.

Meanwhile, the meme coin BABYDOGE experienced an even more pronounced effect from Musk’s subtle endorsement. The token surged by 195% and has continued to hold those gains despite the broader pullback.

Elon Musk Posts a Shiba Inu, Lead Developer Reacts

Shiba Inu also benefited from Elon Musk’s influence. Specifically, Musk also shared an image of a giant Shiba Inu dog depicted as a dust storm overtaking a city. The image is widely interpreted as a reference to the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency, given the iconic mascot.

Musk’s post has reignited interest and enthusiasm within the Shiba Inu community, with the lead developer of the ecosystem acknowledging the tweet.

#SHIB https://t.co/xkm3OHGByl

— Shytoshi Kusama™ (@ShytoshiKusama) December 7, 2024

Furthermore, Shiba Inu community members flooded Musk’s post with the community’s signature “Woof” in excitement. Key community figures, such as administrator RagnarShib, remarked, “Shiba Inu is unstoppable.”

Shiba Inu Price Reacts

The price of Shiba Inu also reflected this renewed enthusiasm. Specifically, SHIB saw its value rise from $0.00003037 to $0.00003329 over the weekend, reaching a new nine-month high following Musk’s post.

However, Shiba Inu has since lost most of these gains and is currently trading at $0.00003079 at press time.

Elon Musk and Shiba Inu

While Dogecoin remains Elon Musk’s favorite, Shiba Inu periodically benefits from the tech billionaire’s continuous subtle references.

For example, during the announcement of Tesla’s latest driverless Cybertruck in October, a Shiba Inu was spotted taking a ride in it, as reported by The Crypto Basic.

Meanwhile, last month, Shiba Inu’s lead developer, Shytoshi Kusama, pitched the adoption of S.H.I.B. to Elon Musk for the upcoming Donald Trump administration.