Dogecoin, started as a joke, now outperforms rivals in cryptocurrency market

Dogecoin, the Shibu Inu-themed cryptocurrency which started as a joke in 2013, has now outperformed its rivals to gain the sixth-biggest market value of its kind. Dogecoin advanced 24% over this week, trouncing its better-established competitors Bitcoin and Ether, which grew only 6.2% and 14.9%, respectively, over the same period, according to CoinGecko pricing. Experts stipulated that one reason behind Dogecoin's recent success is Elon Musk, the third-richest man in the world, whose frequent tweets on cryptocurrency-related matters have often led to volatility in the market.

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Elon Musk, who often pitches in with memes from his personal Twitter handle, has moved the prices of cryptocurrencies -- Bitcoin and Dogecoin -- multiple times. Many in the Bitcoin community have been dismayed by the world’s third-richest man of late, for reasons including his U-turn on accepting Bitcoin as payment and a tweet alluding to a breakup with the biggest cryptocurrency. But some Dogecoin fans are actively courting him. After all, it wouldn't be called a "meme currency" without social media action.

“If anyone has a problem with Elon they’ll have to go through the #DogeArmy first,” a Twitter user was seen quipping.

In all its internet notoriety, Dogecoin is up more than 14,000% in the past year. The cryptocurrency is establishing itself prominently on the mobile userbase, with the Coinbase Android and iOS apps making Dogecoin more accessible now than ever.

According to cryptocurrency experts, Dogecoin's recent popularity and success is an interesting case study in the power of retail traders and the replicative potential of memes in a world where the Federal Reserve and other central banks are practicing relatively loose monetary policy to try to overcome Covid-19’s economic damage.

“This Dogecoin bounce comes during a period where the crypto-verse is seeing a consolidation of positions,” news agency Bloomberg quoted senior market analyst Edward Moya as saying. Adding that the Coinbase development is bolstering the price of cryptocurrencies, he said, “So we should not be surprised if this recent surge fizzles -- or if it makes another attempt at the moon.”