[imagesource: Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images]

A few years back, when Bitcoin surged and then plummeted months later, it was easy to think that cryptocurrencies had enjoyed their time in the limelight.

Well, if you chose to hold (or HODL) onto your Bitcoin, you’re smiling now, because even after a dip this past week it’s still hovering around the $55 000 mark.

Then there’s Dogecoin, which sounds silly, and is silly, unless you happen to own the latest fad in cryptocurrency.

Thanks to Reddit, the subreddit r/dogecoin, and a certain Elon Musk, Dogecoin now is nearing a total market cap of around $50 billion, which is up more than sixfold in two weeks.

As Forbes points out, it’s been a strange journey thus far:

Dogecoin is today the sixth most valuable cryptocurrency, an all-time high for what was originally conceived eight years ago as a meta joke about monetary value and the internet, its mascot a Shiba Inu, an oft-memed dog breed.

The token’s price has increased from about 6 cents two weeks ago to over 40 cents, and its low price per coin has surely contributed its rise, allowing investors who might be unable to afford more expensive cryptos such as Bitcoin or Ether to buy up Dogecoins.

Purchasing Dogecoins is a bet they could become a permanently viable currency—and an unquestionable gamble given the frequent fluctuations in value across crypto, including industry-leading Bitcoin.

The aim, over the past week, had been to drive the price of Dogecoin up to $1, but that didn’t pan out.

If you follow Elon Musk, you may be aware that he’s been tweeting memes about the cryptocurrency for a while, with close to a dozen positive mentions related to Dogecoin in the last four months:

👀

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2021

Doge meme shield (legendary item) pic.twitter.com/CeomU9q84c

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 1, 2021

He also spoke about Dogecoin on Clubhouse, and these repeated mentions have given investors a boost:

 R/Dogecoin has come to see Musk’s interest as the highest form of validation possible.

“The backing from Elon Musk has been a huge thing,” says [Tanner Sims, a 22-year-old R/Dogecoin member], whose Dogecoin stake rests around $16,000.

“It gave me a lot of confidence.”

The success of Wall Street Bets in boosting GameStop’s share price has also given Reddit users the confidence to believe they can affect the value of the cryptocurrency:

As more people wager on Dogecoin, R/Dogecoin is experiencing a spike in popularity, too, with the Reddit forum emerging as the latest virtual epicenter of a financial mania.

It now has over 1.5 million members, a 25% increase in about a week, and bears an increasingly close resemblance to R/WallStreetBets, the group on Reddit that played such an active role in the GameStop mania in late January.

Sadly, for many who bought GameStop shares after they had risen, only to see the price drop substantially, huge losses were incurred.

Whilst the relatively cheap price of buying a single Dogecoin means jumping on board doesn’t have to break the bank, there are those who worry that people are placing a little too much faith in it.

Toben Blalock, who owns in excess of $200 000 in Dogecoin tokens, and has become a mini-celebrity on r/Dogecoin, is one of them:

[He] worries too many on R/Dogecoin truly have no idea what they’re doing as they pile into crypto with digitally driven euphoria.

“Those coins are a great thing to kind of play around with it,” he says. “But a lot of people are investing their life savings. And I think that’s a terrible idea right now.”

It’s your money, but it is worth proceeding with caution and not putting all of your eggs in one basket.

Also, if you add #bitcoin to your social media bio, you will be judged.

[source:forbes]