The value of dogecoin soared to nearly 70 cents Wednesday morning as enthusiastic online traders continue to pile in on the ‘joke’ cryptocurrency, making it the fourth most valuable cryptocurrency and bringing the longtime goal of $1 a token within reach ahead of dogecoin champion Elon Musk’s anticipated appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend.
Key Points
At the time of writing, dogecoin was trading at around $0.67 a coin—down slightly from an all time high of $0.69 earlier this morning.
The price per token was up 37% from this time the previous day, and has risen 147% over the past week.
Dogecoin’s market cap now sits at around $86.7 billion, up from $69 billion yesterday
At its current value, dogecoin is worth more than food and drinks giant Mondelez, FedEx and British American Tobacco.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a longtime fan of dogecoin, is hosting Saturday Night Live this week. The billionaire has whipped up doge-related interest on social media by promising to incorporate the meme into his appearance. Some of the biggest spikes for dogecoin have come after the token was mentioned by Elon Musk on Twitter, messages that were often accompanied by memes.
KEY BACKGROUND
Dogecoin was initially created as a joke in 2013, mixing together cryptocurrency and the popular Shiba Inu doge meme. Support from billionaires and celebrities—including Musk, Mark Cuban and Snoop Dog—along with its dual status as a meme when Reddit-fueled retail traders pumped into GameStop meme stocks, allowed it to persist and grow in popularity.
Source: Forbes