Kabosu, the Face of Cryptocurrency Dogecoin, Dies at 18, Owner Says

This picture taken on March 19, 2024 shows Atsuko Sato (L) with her Japanese Shiba Inu dog Kabosu, best known as the logo of cryptocurrency Dogecoin, playing with students at a kindergarten in Narita, Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. (AFP)
This picture taken on March 19, 2024 shows Atsuko Sato (L) with her Japanese Shiba Inu dog Kabosu, best known as the logo of cryptocurrency Dogecoin, playing with students at a kindergarten in Narita, Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. (AFP)
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Kabosu, the Face of Cryptocurrency Dogecoin, Dies at 18, Owner Says

This picture taken on March 19, 2024 shows Atsuko Sato (L) with her Japanese Shiba Inu dog Kabosu, best known as the logo of cryptocurrency Dogecoin, playing with students at a kindergarten in Narita, Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. (AFP)
This picture taken on March 19, 2024 shows Atsuko Sato (L) with her Japanese Shiba Inu dog Kabosu, best known as the logo of cryptocurrency Dogecoin, playing with students at a kindergarten in Narita, Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. (AFP)

Kabosu, the Japanese dog that became a global meme and the face of alternative cryptocurrency Dogecoin has died at 18, her owner announced in a blog post on Friday.

The Japanese Shiba Inu passed away while sleeping, her owner Atsuko Sato wrote.

Kabosu became recognizable as the face of Dogecoin, an alternative cryptocurrency that began as a satirical critique of the 2013 crypto frenzy.

But the token jumped in value after Tesla boss Elon Musk, a proponent of cryptocurrencies, began tweeting about it in 2020. Since then the billionaire has repeatedly promoted the coin.

Dogecoin added as much as $4 billion to its market value last year when the billionaire, who bought social media site Twitter in 2022, briefly replaced Twitter's blue bird logo with an image of Kabosu. Musk subsequently renamed Twitter X.

With a market capitalization of around $23.6 billion, Dogecoin is now the ninth biggest cryptocurrency, according to data site Coingecko.com. “The impact this one dog has made across the world is immeasurable,” Dogecoin posted on social media site X on Friday.



BRICS Leaders to Call for Data Protections against Unauthorized AI Use

Brazilian soldiers take part in a demonstration exercise ahead of the BRICS Presidential Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/ Tita Barros/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Brazilian soldiers take part in a demonstration exercise ahead of the BRICS Presidential Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/ Tita Barros/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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BRICS Leaders to Call for Data Protections against Unauthorized AI Use

Brazilian soldiers take part in a demonstration exercise ahead of the BRICS Presidential Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/ Tita Barros/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Brazilian soldiers take part in a demonstration exercise ahead of the BRICS Presidential Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/ Tita Barros/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Leaders of the BRICS group of developing nations will call for protections against unauthorized use of artificial intelligence (AI) to avoid excessive data collection and allow mechanisms for fair payment, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters.

The diplomatic bloc is dedicating part of its discussions on Sunday to AI during a two-day summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Big tech firms largely based in wealthy nations have resisted calls to pay copyright fees for material used to train AI models.