Tesla's Elon Musk buys Dogecoin for his son X Æ A-Xii

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that began as a joke in 2013 with a perpetually surprised Shiba Inu dog for its symbol

Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk has bought meme-based digital currency Dogecoin for his son X Æ A-Xii.

"Bought some Dogecoin for lil X, so he can be a toddler hodler," the millionaire tweeted with a video of his son.

Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that began as a joke in 2013 with a perpetually surprised Shiba Inu dog for its symbol, soared close to 1,000 per cent over last week in a record rally after Musk mentioned it on Twitter.

Also read: Jokes abound as Musk helps fuel rise of crypto dogecoin

The price of dogecoin, which has traded at just fractions of a cent for most of its existence, surged last week amid a buying frenzy that surrounded the GameStop saga. Musk's messages on the topic, including him dubbing it "the people's crypto", sent its value soaring overnight by around 50 per cent.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder followed up the endorsement by posting a doctored image from the Lion King in which he lifts the cryptocurrency's mascot image of a Shiba Inu dog above his head in triumph.

(With agency inputs)