Bitcoin has had a big week with its price notching fresh all-time highs and major U.S. cryptocurrency company Coinbase landing on the Nasdaq
The bitcoin price came within touching distance of $65,000 per bitcoin this week as Coinbase IPO mania sparked a surge of interest in cryptocurrencies. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, has also soared, with the ethereum price climbing over $2,500 per ether token for the first time.
As huge bitcoin and ethereum price gains push the combined cryptocurrency market further over $2 trillion, dogecoin—the memecoin that's been named by Tesla
The price of dogecoin, a joke cryptocurrency based on the doge meme, has suddenly soared this week, ... [+]
Dogecoin, created as a "joke" in 2013, began climbing in January after stock market traders frustrated by restrictions that were placed on popular meme stocks switched to cryptocurrencies. The rally has since been spurred on by the likes of Musk and other influential figures talking up the cryptocurrency on social media.
"I think [dogecoin could reach] $1 this year," says YouTuber and dogecoin investor Ben Phillips, speaking via WhatsApp. A dogecoin price of $1 would mean a 400% price appreciation from its current 25 cents. "I’m not joking, I see this coin doing some stupid moves."
Click here to subscribe to Forbes CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor
Phillips, a British YouTube prankster with almost 5 million subscribers who says he's buying more dogecoin, has leaned into cryptocurrencies this year, tweeting heavily about different tokens as soaring prices attract unprecedented interest in the crypto market.
This week, the Reddit forum WallStreetBets, famous for sending GameStop stock sharply higher, briefly lifted its ban on the discussion of three cryptocurrencies—bitcoin, ethereum and dogecoin.
"I don't see the point in delaying the inevitable anymore as crypto is here to stay," wrote moderator u/bawse1. The ban was put back in place less than 24 hours after being removed, with message board moderators citing a "dumb" Bloomberg report as the reason the ban was reinstated.
The dogecoin price has rallied 10,000% over the last six months, giving dogecoin a market capitalization of over $30 billion, amid a broad cryptocurrency rally. Bitcoin and ethereum have both added around 500% during the same period, with bitcoin recently becoming a $1 trillion asset thanks to the emergence of long-awaited institutional support.
The blistering dogecoin price surge has accelerated this week, taking the "joke" bitcoin rival to ... [+]
"It is worth remembering that big capital prefers major cryptocurrencies, and its optimism may not extend to all other coins, which mostly attract retail demand," Alex Kuptsikevich, senior financial analyst at FxPro, said in emailed comments, adding dogecoin has climbed "thanks to the rush of retail demand."
"The interest in the memecoin should serve as a reminder that in the case of rapid correction, altcoins would face a sell-off that would be much more fierce than that of the major coins."
Meanwhile, even cryptocurrency pump groups organized via apps like Telegram and Discord that try to drive crypto prices higher before cashing out have expressed surprise at the recent dogecoin price rally.
"Doge is shocking. But an absolute beast right now," wrote one user in a group called SatoshiStreetBets, named after bitcoin's mysterious, anonymous creator.
"I’m not sure this bull run will be the turning point for real projects," wrote another. "Seeing doge go 100x had made me think that crypto is still in its baby stage."
