Musk’s Dog Tweet Sends FLOKI Soaring 27% in Minutes

Elon Musk’s Monday post declaring “Flōki is back on the job as X CEO!” alongside an AI-generated clip showing his Shiba Inu in a business suit sent immediate shockwaves through meme-coin markets. The FLOKI token, named after Musk’s dog, responded with lightning speed, surging roughly 27% from about $0.0000657 to roughly $0.0000847 within minutes of the social media activity. Some cryptocurrency exchanges recorded even higher intraday peaks near $0.00009 as traders scrambled to capitalize on the momentum.

The rapid price movement was directly attributed to Musk’s social media influence, with market coverage confirming the tweet and accompanying video triggered an immediate buying wave across trading platforms. Depending on the exchange, price increases ranged between 20-29% as speculative capital flooded into the token. The broader meme-coin market experienced significant spillover effects, with the overall memecoin market capitalization rising nearly 6% to approach $64 billion as traders expanded their speculative bets across the sector.

Trading activity surged dramatically across both spot and derivatives markets following Musk’s post. Derivatives volume experienced an extraordinary 660% spike to reach $280 million, while open interest—representing outstanding derivative contracts—climbed approximately 165% to $37 million. This dramatic increase in derivatives activity indicated that traders weren’t merely buying the token outright but were actively opening leveraged positions, amplifying both potential gains and risks.

Multiple cryptocurrency exchanges reported rapid order flow and significant increases in short-term trading volumes as the social media-driven rally unfolded. The heavy derivatives activity raised concerns among market analysts, who noted that when substantial leverage flows into a relatively small market like FLOKI, price movements can become magnified in both directions. Several analysts cautioned that gains tied to a single social media post are inherently fragile without sustained organic buying pressure to support them.

Liquidity conditions varied significantly across trading venues, with smaller platforms experiencing deeper price swings due to thinner order books. Larger, more established exchanges saw substantial volume increases but maintained more stable pricing with less dramatic gaps. According to available figures, traders on decentralized platforms captured most of the early price movement, while centralized venues absorbed the later wave of orders as the news spread through the cryptocurrency community.

The Floki project’s substantial online community played a crucial role in amplifying Musk’s social media post, with members rapidly sharing and discussing the content across multiple platforms. This community-driven amplification helped fuel the rapid price appreciation as retail traders joined the buying frenzy. The immediate reaction demonstrated how tightly-knit cryptocurrency communities can magnify market-moving events through coordinated social media activity.

Despite the overwhelming positive sentiment, not all market participants viewed the rally as a pure buying opportunity. On-chain data snapshots revealed that several large wallet holders moved to take profits during the price spike, selling small portions of their holdings as the token approached its intraday highs. This profit-taking activity highlighted the divided market sentiment, with some traders viewing the social media-driven surge as a temporary phenomenon rather than a fundamental shift in value.

The event underscored the ongoing vulnerability of meme-coins to celebrity social media activity and the potential for rapid, sentiment-driven price movements in cryptocurrency markets. While the immediate effect was overwhelmingly positive for FLOKI holders, market watchers emphasized that such gains require careful risk management, particularly given the substantial leverage and derivatives activity that accompanied the price surge.