The meme-cryptocurrency Dogecoin has once again shattered its all-time high price, reaching an astonishing $0.36 at the time of writing. The incredible price gives Dogecoin a total market capitalization of nearly $50 billion, soaring to deliver nearly 200 percent gains in a 24-hour period.
Dogecoin to the Moon?
As ever, the price of Dogecoin is contentious. As a cryptocurrency with very little in terms of actual usage, the rapidly increasing price always catches people by surprise. But the price increases in recent months have been driven almost exclusively by one man: Elon Musk.
Every time Musk tweets about Dogecoin to his more than 51 million Twitter followers, the price of the meme-coin goes stratospheric.
On this occasion, Elon Musk tweeted out a picture of Spanish artist Joan Miró's artwork, Dog Barking at the Moon—except Musk had switched the title out for "Doge Barking at the Moon."
Of course, this far from the first time that one of Elon Musk's tweets have sent Dogecoin prices into overdrive. Earlier in 2021, Musk tweeted multiple times regarding the cryptocurrency, each time pushing the price higher.
As the price of Dogecoin originated as fractions of cents, some Dogecoin holders have made astronomical amounts of money, so long as they cash out into US dollars or another fiat currency (otherwise, they're just unrealized gains on paper).
Musk has long had an interesting relationship with cryptocurrencies. Back in December 2020, he tweeted that "Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money," before purchasing $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency to put on Tesla's books, while allowing people to begin using Bitcoin to purchase a Tesla. That investment has already doubled in size.
Is Musk Manipulating Dogecoin Price?
There are more than a few people watching Elon Musk's Dogecoin activities with additional interest. Every time Musk tweets about Dogecoin, the price rockets. Wait a few weeks, rinse and repeat.
In a world where cryptocurrencies are becoming more mainstream than ever, surely Musk's activities are catching the watchful eyes of the authorities?
Indeed, Musk himself responded to a tweet regarding a potential SEC investigation with a trivializing response.
If the SEC is investigating Musk for apparent Dogecoin price manipulation, they wouldn't have far to look. His Twitter feed is full of tweets apparently promoting the meme-cryptocurrency.
Whatever happens with Musk, there is little doubting that the Dogecoin price bubble is a precarious one. Dogecoin is a risky investment as there are multiple wallets holding billions of Dogecoin, which amount to billions of US dollars if cashed out. If just one of those Dogecoin whales were to dump their entire holdings on the market, the Dogecoin price would crash.
If you are considering investing money in Dogecoin, make sure to do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.