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Dogecoin soared more than 40% early Friday after a tweet from supporter Elon Musk and as Coinbase said it would list the meme-inspired cryptocurrency.
The price of dogecoin rose to an intraday high of around 55 cents at 2:30 a.m. ET, according to data from Coin Metrics. It’s still down about 18% from a record high of nearly 67 cents only a week ago.
Musk tweeted Thursday that he was working with dogecoin developers to improve the efficiency of transactions.
On Wednesday, the Tesla CEO made a surprise announcement that his electric car firm would stop accepting bitcoin as payment due to concerns over its environmental impact.
That led to a brutal sell-off in cryptocurrencies, including dogecoin. Dogecoin had already fallen significantly after Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, in which he called the digital coin a “hustle.”
Meanwhile, crypto exchange platform Coinbase said Thursday it would offer dogecoin support in the next six to eight weeks. Many crypto traders have flocked to the zero-fee investing app Robinhood to trade the meme token; now Coinbase’s move could lead to more trading activity.
Dogecoin isn’t taken very seriously by loyal bitcoin supporters. It started in 2013 as a joke, inspired by the “Doge” meme, but has since found a growing community online. Dogecoin is now the fourth-largest crypto by market value on CoinMarketCap, worth over $69 billion.
Financial experts warn that dogecoin is a highly speculative asset. It has stoked worries over a potential bubble in crypto markets — though some economists would say all cryptocurrencies are in a bubble.
Last week, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned crypto investors should be “prepared to lose all your money,” echoing a similar warning from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority.
Bitcoin was marginally higher Friday, with the world’s biggest digital asset up about 0.3% at a price of $49,052. Ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency, rose 3.6%, to $3,805.
