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.



Nvidia CEO Says Global Cooperation in Tech will Continue under Trump Administration

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang poses for a photo after receiving an honorary doctorate in engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, in Hong Kong on November 23, 2024. (Photo by Holmes CHAN / AFP)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang poses for a photo after receiving an honorary doctorate in engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, in Hong Kong on November 23, 2024. (Photo by Holmes CHAN / AFP)
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Nvidia CEO Says Global Cooperation in Tech will Continue under Trump Administration

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang poses for a photo after receiving an honorary doctorate in engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, in Hong Kong on November 23, 2024. (Photo by Holmes CHAN / AFP)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang poses for a photo after receiving an honorary doctorate in engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, in Hong Kong on November 23, 2024. (Photo by Holmes CHAN / AFP)

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Saturday that global cooperation in technology will continue even if the incoming US administration imposes stricter export controls on advanced computing products.
US President-elect Donald Trump, in his first term in office, imposed restrictions on the sale of US technology to China citing national security - a policy continued under President Joe Biden. The curbs forced Nvidia, the world's leading maker of chips used for artificial intelligence applications, to change its product lineup in China.
"Open science in global collaboration, cooperation across math and science has been around for a very long time. It is the foundation of social advancement and scientific advancement," Huang told media during a visit to Hong Kong.
Cooperation is "going to continue. I don't know what's going to happen in the new administration, but whatever happens, we'll balance simultaneously compliance with laws and policies, continue to advance our technology and support and serve customers all over the world."
The head of the world's most valuable company was speaking in the financial hub after receiving an honorary doctorate in engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Reuters reported.
During the visit, Huang participated in a fireside chat with the university's Council Chairman Harry Sham in front of an audience of students and academics.
Asked about the huge energy requirements of graphics processing units - chips behind artificial intelligence - Huang said, "If the world uses more energy to power the AI factories of the world, we are a better world when that happens".
Huang said "the goal of AI is not for training, the goal of AI is for inference". He said AI can discover, for instance, new ways to store carbon dioxide in reservoirs, new wind turbine designs and new materials for storing electricity.
He said people should start thinking about placing AI supercomputers slightly off the power grid and let them use sustainable energy and in places away from populations.
"My hopes and dreams is that in the end, what we all see is that using energy for intelligence is the best use of energy we can imagine," Huang said.
Earlier on Saturday, Huang told graduates that "the age of AI has started" in a speech after receiving the honorary degree.
"A new computing era that will impact every industry and every field of science."