Tesla Chief Executive and overall cryptocurrency fan Elon Musk’s remarks about Dogecoin during an appearance on Saturday Night Live this past weekend sent the cryptocurrency’s value into a significant dip Sunday before shares partially recovered.
A single Dogecoin was trading at 70 cents on the Coinbase exchange at 11:30 p.m. EST Saturday — before Musk’s appearance.
Then Musk performed in a sketch around the theme “what is Dogecoin.” The multi-billionaire, echoing a statement by cast member Michael Che, said, “it’s a hustle.”
A Dogecoin fetched 43 cents on Coinbase at around 8:10 EST Sunday — a decline of about 39 percent from its pre-SNL level — before bouncing back to trade at about 55 cents shortly after 6 p.m. EST.
“I think he’s having a lot of fun … He can say anything he wants about dogecoin or cryptos fully aware that just him saying something moves the price,” James Angel, associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and a cryptocurrency expert, reportedly told Reuters, adding: “Anyone who wants to play the Elon Musk game should be prepared to lose all their money.”
Musk’s SNL appearance followed a wild week for Dogecoin, including a 30 percent increase in its price in dollars after Musk sent a Tweet referring to himself as “the Dogefather.”
The run-up in the value of Dogecoin, which was created in response to a joke, has lead to words of caution from a number of quarters. Dogecoin at one point last week held a total value of $86 billion — almost twice that of Ford Motor Co.
Musk has been a cryptocurrency advocate for several years, presiding over Tesla’s purchase of $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency and announcing the company was moving toward accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment for automobiles.
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