SINGAPORE: Meme-based cryptocurrency dogecoin jumped on Friday after Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk said the electric carmaker will accept it as payment for merchandise.

"Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin," Musk tweeted.

His mid-December tweet saying such use of dogecoin will be allowed on a test basis sent the cryptocurrency up more than 20%.

Dogecoin, popular among retail investors, raced up 18% to above $0.2 after Friday's tweet.

Musk's tweets on the cryptocurrency, including the one where he called it the "people's crypto", buoyed the meme coin and caused it to soar roughly 4,000% in 2021.