Following one of the most controversial and unorthodox retail run-ups in crypto history, Dogecoin was a classic “sell the news” case when Elon Musk took the stage in the highest anticipated Saturday Night Live show of the decade. Doge all-time highs leading up to the show at a nick above $0.72, sentiments were all over […]
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May
12, 2021
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This story originally appeared on ValueWalk
Following one of the most controversial and unorthodox retail run-ups in crypto history, Dogecoin was a classic “sell the news” case when Elon Musk took the stage in the highest anticipated Saturday Night Live show of the decade. Doge all-time highs leading up to the show at a nick above $0.72, sentiments were all over the place on Twitter. CEO of Digital Currency Group and bitcoin bull Barry Silbert publicly announced his firm’s short position on Doge.
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The Doge price fell sharply as Elon was performing, hitting $0.49 before buyers steadied the ship above 50 cents. Death of Doge chants didn’t last long as Elon Musk announced the next day that SpaceX will accept Dogecoin payments. Buy orders flowed back in, and the buy/sell order price of Doge hit $0.59 on Kucoin, whose DOGE market has witnessed unprecedented volume in recent weeks.
Life After SNL
If Bitcoin is the bedrock of crypto, then Dogecoin is the bedrock meme of crypto. Elon Musk has evolved into a lifelong proponent for Dogecoin, which doesn’t hurt considering he is the richest man in the world.
What comes next bears careful consideration: “memeability” is a necessary consideration for the modern day thesis-driven portfolio. Think of the beginning of the internet, engagement was low and people really didn’t know how to let loose or connect in a meaningful way online. Then came lolcats. Lolcats are long forgotten now, but were once considered the quintessential meme as a first order effect and influenced the culture of the internet to this day.
Ever since the inception of memes, we have used them to communicate our feelings, especially in moments of utmost relevance. Crypto has been long tied to internet dwellers and those who have a deep understanding of the nuances of online humor. For the sake of simplifying things, we will evaluate the top coins and their memes rather than run through the etymology of crypto Twitter.
Crypto’s Meme Machine
Bitcoin has powerful memes like “sound money,” “digital gold,” “store of value,” and “HFSP” (have fun staying poor – directed at BTC detractors or no-coiners).” This is a testament to the community of Bitcoiners who’ve memed their magical internet money into a $1 trillion financial powerhouse.
Ethereum, the next dominant token, is semi-jokingly referred to as “internet of money,” and “ultra-sound money.” Its community’s memes are a work in progress.
And then we have Dogecoin, the meme within a meme. A coin so simple that it’s the perfect fit for the clown world we’re living in. And maybe that’s all we need: to take a step back and realize we are all just imperfect people trying to make it in this world. As Elon Musk has been quoted saying, we should all have a nice laugh at the irony of Dogecoin becoming our world currency.
While DOGE goes sideways, as the market pauses for breath, the stirring of other memecoins such as SHIB, KISHU, and SANSHU suggests there’s life in this old dog yet.