Dogecoin price has set a new all-time high for the second day in a row, reaching US$0.6953 today before declining slightly to the mid 60-cent range where it currently trades. Dogecoin is now ranked the 4th most popular cryptocurrency in the world, with a market cap of over US$85 billion according to CoinMarketCap.
The Dogecoin price has surged over 14,000% since Jan. 1, 2021. The meme cryptocurrency’s market cap means it is worth more than Ford Motor Co., the gaming company Nintendo, car maker Mitsubishi and even major bank Santander.
First crypto dog on the moon?
As the Shiba Inu of crypto — the canine mascot for the DOGE token — continues to be promoted by celebrities and corporate tycoons, Dogecoin’s price keeps climbing ever higher. After falling below 20 cents on April 23, the recent Dogecoin price rally kicked off following mainstream media coverage from Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last Wednesday.
The Dogecoin price drove yet further skyward when crypto exchange eToro listed the crypto on May 3, in anticipation of the DOGE community’s favorite son, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, appearing on Saturday Night Live, scheduled for this weekend.
See related article: Dogecoin price flies to moon on eToro listing and Elon Musk for rocket fuel
After Doge reached its previous all-time high of US$0.59 on May 4, Dogecoin’s price surged anew upon Gemini digital asset exchange’s announcement that it would support the trading and custody of Dogecoin on its platform.
At the time of writing Dogecoin is trading at US$0.64, just five cents from its all-time high of US$0.69 set hours ago.
What’s really driving Dogecoin prices?
On April 30, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he thinks capital markets, as typified, are currently a “bit frothy.” A situation exemplified by the Dogecoin price craze. He added that the easy-money policy — adopted by the central bank to combat the economic disruption of the Covid pandemic — may have had something to do with the market mania.
The fiscal relief of the central banks around the world — effectively pouring out money to stabilize financial markets — has in turn majorly impacted crypto through asset price inflation.
“You are seeing things in the capital markets that are a bit frothy, that’s a fact,” Powell said. “I won’t say it has nothing to do with monetary policy, but also it has a tremendous amount to do with vaccination and reopening of the economy.”
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Powell’s comment came in response to a question on the connection between easy monetary policy and the growing public interest in speculative investments like Dogecoin and GameStop.
The price of DOGE, which was started as a joke, is up more than 6,000% year to date, riding a wave of celebrity promotion and social media-focused investors looking to make a quick profit.
“Dogecoin and its price movements are captivating the community, both the kind of the old guard community and, you know, newbies coming into the space.” Ben Caselin, head of research and strategy at AAX, told Forkast.News.
Caselin said it’s very clear the Dogecoin pump has nothing to do with sound money qualities, as the main narrative that you hear online is about how it “started as a joke” and it’s “so funny that it’s growing.”
And the joke is no secret. Galaxy Digital a financial services firm dedicated to digital assets released their research on the meme-cryptocurrency earlier today entitled “Dogecoin: The Most Honest Sh*tcoin”.
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“Dogecoin has always been a joke, and the joke just keeps getting funnier.” Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy digital tweeted,
Typical of a joke that stirs an effect in an audience when a social norm has been breached, “Dogecoin is definitely a norm breacher” and that appears to be the essence of what is driving its demand in the markets, Caselin said.
“This is a community driven token. It’s an anti-establishment token in a kind of double sense of the word anti-establishment against fiat, anti-establishment against kind of the wider crypto narrative, which is about a store of value, et cetera.” Caselin said. “I think we can have a conversation about DOGE price appreciation, but not in the same way that we would talk about, let’s say, a Bitcoin price appreciation.”
Caselin added that in his opinion, seeing Dogecoin’s price touching US$1 appeared inevitable at this stage. “It’s nearly there,” he said.
