The virtual currency, which originally started as an internet parody more than seven years ago, has risen by more than 85% in the last 24 hours and trades at $ 0.13, according to CoinDesk. His market capitalization is now over $ 17 billion.
The latest boom comes as investors prepare for the direct listing of the Coinbase Global currency exchange, which could further help confirm the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies as a business. Bitcoin too broke a new high of more than $ 62,700 this week before listing, and other cryptocurrencies also made big gains.
But the rise of Dogecoin is remarkable. The currency has risen more than 2,000% since the beginning of the year and has a huge following from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose tweets about it have sometimes increased the value of Dogecoin.
Dogecoin also enjoyed something of a cult status on Reddit, where a popular group – not unlike the WallStreetBets group behind GameStop’s rally – decided earlier this year to allow its value “to the moon”. Dogecoin increased by more than 600% in the aftermath of that push.
Musk is the richest fan of Dogecoin, but he was previously critical of the more established bitcoin, call it ‘BS’ once in a tweet. In a February interview on social app clubhouse, Musk said he should have bought that digital currency eight years ago. His company Tesla also promised customers that they could buy their cars with bitcoin.
Coinbase, meanwhile, his debut is Wednesday. The company is profitable and has shown strong revenue growth.
Based on recent private equity trades for Coinbase, the company is valued at a beautiful level of almost $ 68 billion. To put it in context, it’s a little more than the market value of the New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental exchange (ICE).
– Paul R. La Monica and Charles Riley contributed to this report.