Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency branded after a viral dog meme from years ago, hit a new all-time high Friday afternoon. It now has a market capitalization of about $92 billion following a six-month climb of more than 26,000 percent.
Over that same time period, the S&P was up 19 percent, while crypto rivals bitcoin and ether were up 286 percent and 698 percent, respectively, according to CoinMarketCap. And stock market darling Tesla? It is up 56 percent since November.
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In addition, while bitcoin has a capped supply of 21 million coins, there is currently no limit to the number of dogecoins that can be created.
Dogecoin isn’t really a reliable store of wealth either, given that this typically requires a certain degree of long-term faith in the coin and the blockchain upon which it’s been built.
Dogecoin loses third of price after Elon Musk calls it a 'hustle' on 'SNL'
Asked ‘what is dogecoin’, Musk replied, “It’s the future of currency. It’s an unstoppable financial vehicle that’s going to take over the world.”
When a show cast member Michael Che countered, “So, it’s a hustle?”, Musk replied, “Yeah, it’s a hustle,” and laughed.
Some financial commentators questioned whether it was responsible for Musk to comment on the cryptocurrency, given he has the power to move its price.
On crypto data tracker CoinGecko.com, dogecoin has jumped more than 800% over the last month and is now the fourth-largest digital currency, with a market capitalization of $73 billion. It hit a record high Thursday above $0.73.
Some crypto experts said that Sunday’s dogecoin selloff was driven by speculation and that Musk had not hurt its long-term prospects.
“Long term fundamentals of doge are intact. This is a buying opportunity,” said Jehan Chu, managing partner at Hong Kong blockchain venture capital firm Kenetic Capital.
“It’s a true social currency - that’s its value.”
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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