Dogecoin, the Shiba Inu-themed cryptocurrency started as a joke in 2013, outperformed top rivals in the week as it launched on the Coinbase exchange.
While the biggest cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ether were up 6.2% and 14.9% over the past seven days respectively, Dogecoin advanced 24% over the same period as of 7:50 a.m. in London, according to CoinGecko pricing. While Coinbase said weeks ago that it planned to add Dogecoin, the announcement that it now supports the meme-based token on Coinbase.com and in the Coinbase Android and iOS apps means Dogecoin is more accessible and continuing to establish itself.
“This Dogecoin bounce comes during a period where the cryptoverse is seeing a consolidation of positions,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp., said in a note Wednesday where he cited the Coinbase development as bolstering the price. “So we should not be surprised if this recent surge fizzles — or if it makes another attempt at the moon.”
Dogecoin is up more than 14,000% in the past year, in a run-up that’s surprised even the crypto community and gives it the sixth-biggest market value. Its gains have been cited as an example of the power of retail traders, the attraction of memes and a case study in what can happen in a world where the Federal Reserve and other central banks are practicing relatively loose monetary policy to try to overcome Covid-19’s economic damage.
And it wouldn’t be Dogecoin without a little social-media action to liven things up. There’s little denying the Twitter pronouncements of Tesla Inc. founder Elon Musk have moved the prices of Bitcoin and Dogecoin multiple times. Many in the Bitcoin community have been dismayed by the world’s third-richest man of late, for reasons including his U-turn on accepting Bitcoin as payment and a tweet alluding to a breakup with the biggest cryptocurrency. But some Dogecoin fans are actively courting him.
“If anyone has a problem with Elon they’ll have to go through the #DogeArmy first,” one Twitter user quipped.
And Billy Markus, a co-creator of Dogecoin who is no longer coding on the project, joked that he bought a new Tesla with Dogecoin — with photos that showed a toy-sized replica vehicle. Musk “liked” the tweet.