Dogecoin cofounder Billy Markus, known as Shibetoshi Nakamoto on X, answered an unusual question about his identity, saying, "I am a Shiba Inu."
Markets were shocked by news that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was stepping down from the chipmaker he cofounded 33 years ago and built into a $4 trillion company that powered the artificial intelligence boom.
The news prompted widespread reactions on social media, including a comment from Dogecoin cofounder Billy Markus on a related post. His participation in a discussion that seemed unrelated to crypto drew a response from an X user who appeared surprised by his interest in the matter.
"I thought you were a dog," the X user said, apparently referring to Markus’s connection with Dogecoin, a dog-themed cryptocurrency launched in December 2013 by Markus and Jackson Palmer as a lighthearted alternative to Bitcoin. Markus replied in his characteristic playful manner, saying, "I am a Shiba Inu."
@mvanhorn @evelynjunn i’m a shiba inu
- Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) November 13, 2026
Kabosu, a Japanese Shiba Inu, inspired the viral "doge" meme, became the face of Dogecoin, and died in 2024.
In another reply on X, the Dogecoin cofounder reiterated, "Billy is a Shiba Inu with glasses."
Markus’s reply pays tribute to Dogecoin’s enduring association with its early internet meme roots, with the Shiba Inu central to the cryptocurrency’s identity. It also recalls the playful personality that helped set Dogecoin apart from other digital assets in its early years.
Dogecoin in red
Markets fell early Friday as traders priced in a Fed rate increase next month, strengthening the dollar, lifting bond yields and making riskier assets less attractive.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s resignation on Thursday also affected the crypto market and sent shares of the AI chipmaker, the world’s second-largest company by market capitalization, tumbling 4%. At the time of writing, Dogecoin was down 0.93% over the past 24 hours to $0.0659, and down 7% for the week.
Leveraged traders bore the brunt as liquidations jumped 150% to $1.4 billion. Long positions accounted for most of the wipeout, at $1.16 billion, while short positions totaled $245 million.
