Market News

BY  Simon Freeman

The latest outbreak of investor mania sent the price of Dogecoin - and its big brother Bitcoin - to record highs on currency markets.

The Doge cryptocurrency, a token based on an internet dog meme and started as a joke to parody Bitcoin in 2013, was up 30% today, to trade at $0.085 (6.2pence) at 3pm.

Last month, it was around trading at around $0.0075c (0.5pence) - an increase of around 1030%.

In the same period Bitcoin - which today hit a record high of $44,595 - has risen a mere 25%.

Doge's ascent has been buoyed by a wave of tongue-in-cheek endorsements from Elon Musk, rapper Snoop Dogg and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons on social media.

The latest price surge briefly pushed the market value of dogecoin above $10bn, making it the 10th most valuable cryptocurrency in circulation by market capitalisation.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin set a new record price this afternoon, to hit $44,899 - after it emerged Tesla (owned by Musk) invested $1.5billion last month. A purchase described by one commentator as: "one bubble investing in another bubble."

The rise has coincided with a surge in retail investor mania which has caused volatility on financial markets.

Shares in GameStop, the original meme-stock which shot up from $19 to $330 before crashing, were also up again today rising 20% to $63.77.

What is Dogecoin?

According to the official website: “Dogecoin is a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency that enables you to easily send money online”.

It was created jointly by IBM developer Billy Markus and Adobe data scientist Jackson Palmer in 2013 as an alternative to Bitcoin and a parody of the online cult around cryptocurrencies.

Despite, or possibly because of that, it has increased in price by 1,250% since the new year - even faster than its big brother.

It is named after an internet image of a Japanese Shiba Inu - which went viral at around the time of doge’s launch with captions in the Comic Sans font - giving an insight into the dog's inner thoughts.

The code is based on the Litecoin, and can be mined in the same way as many other digital currencies. It differs because its supply is limitless.

Until recently it has mostly been used to tip small amounts of money to content creators on social media platforms.

What is going on with its price?

Prices of crypto have rocketed in the past three months driven by fears of inflation in real-world currencies, celebrity endorsements and growing mainstream acceptance.

Dogecoin’s anarchic spirit has struck a chord in the US, with Elon Musk, Snoop Dogg and Kiss’s Gene Simmons all raising its profile in recent days.

On February 4, it doubled in value after Musk tweeted: “Dogecoin is the people’s crypto”.

Musk was clearly joking. With Simmons, who declared himself the “God of Dogecoin” and rapper Snoop Dogg, who pasted a Doge over his album art, that is less clear.

Either way, the social media frenzy sent the price of Doge shooting up again last night. The goal is to push it to $1 per coin, which would represent a further 1,230% gain.

How do I buy it?

Most crypto exchanges do not offer Doge but Binance and Kraken are two biggest brokers. It is also available in the US on the Robinhood app, which has helped to fuel its latest rise.

Should I buy it?

No.