What began as a joke way back in 2013 is rarely out of the news nowadays. Dogecoin’s latest surge has put it at the forefront of financial debate. Opinions vary wildly on the nature of doge. Some dismiss it as a meme currency gone too far while others (including Elon Musk) speculate that it might one day become the currency of the internet.
Whatever the future of the Shibu Inu currency, there are several factors behind its recent explosion.
Elon Musk
The eccentric Tesla founder has played a big role in dogecoin’s popularity and subsequent rise in value. Many of the currency’s biggest spikes can be traced back to his interventions, ranging from tweets and jokes to more serious claims that dogecoin might one day be the go-to internet currency. He’s been behind drops in value, too. When Musk told investors to sell doge they responded in droves, dragging its price down with them.
Elon Musk is so bound up with the destiny of dogecoin that even his appearance on a comedy show triggered a spike in value. Of course, his success with Tesla and his formidable reputation means that many people simply trust what he says. When Elon Musk champions a cryptocurrency, no matter how light-hearted that currency is, people listen.
Wider applicability
What began as a fringe cryptocurrency is rapidly turning mainstream. There’s a real sense that brokers were taken by surprise when dogecoin became popular, and there’s been a mad scramble to add it to platforms including the popular Binance and eToro. The burgeoning accessibility of doge as a tradable commodity is one reason behind its success, but more and more sites are adopting it as a way to pay.
Online casinos are a great example. Cryptocurrency is increasingly being accepted as a way to pay and play, with a growing list of casinos welcoming dogecoin too. As the list grows, it’s highly likely that popular online casinos like www.royalvegascasino.com will one day allow users to pay using cryptocurrencies including dogecoin. No longer just a meme, this currency could take on real-world significance.
Dogecoin is an anti-currency
Strange as it might seem, the mass purchasing of dogecoin is also an act of rebellion. When Gamestop shares surged earlier this year it was almost entirely due to a Reddit thread encouraging users to make trouble for Wall Street by buying the shares. Dogecoin is similar. While its rise might not be spurred by quite the same level of anti stockbroker sentiment, it’s definitely an “outsider” currency.
The first dogecoin hike began not long after the Gamestop affair, when large brokers restricted sales of the shares in an attempt to moderate the market. Reddit played its part again. The big push to get dogecoin “to the moon” has its origins in the myriad of subreddits that make up the underbelly of internet culture. Dogecoin is a way for people who wouldn’t normally dabble in cryptocurrency to get involved. It’s accessible, and it also signifies a rebellion against traditional Wall Street values.
