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Dogecoin rises on eve of Elon Musk's SNL appearance

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk aka 'Dogefather'. Photo: Britta Pedersen/ AFP/Getty
SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk aka 'Dogefather'. Photo: Britta Pedersen/ AFP/Getty (BRITTA PEDERSEN via Getty Images)

Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) awakened from the previous day’s slump to trade higher on Friday on the eve of Elon Musk’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) appearance.

The cryptocurrency was up around 2% in early trade to $0.63 (£0.45) after falling to around $0.52 earlier on.

Dogecoin, which started as a joke in 2013, has rallied this week as internet users have tried to push the value of the coin to $1.

Dogecoin climbed higher on Friday, the eve of Elon Musk's SNL appearance. Chart: Yahoo Finance
Dogecoin climbed higher on Friday, the eve of Elon Musk's SNL appearance. Chart: Yahoo Finance (Yahoo Finance)

Some analysts believe that Musk hosting SNL tomorrow will send prices spiking over the weekend as it is widely anticipated that he will do a skit mentioning Dogecoin, which will in turn raise the profile of the crypto.

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,“Dogecoin is surging because many cryptocurrency traders do not want to miss out on any buzz that stems from Elon Musk’s hosting of Saturday Night Live,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.

“Also known as the Dogefather, Musk will undoubtedly have a sketch on cryptocurrencies that will probably go viral for days and further motivate his army of followers to try to send Dogecoin to the moon.”

As well as getting support from the Tesla (TSLA) founder, Dogecoin has been backed by rapper Snoop Dogg and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons.

On Wednesday, popular exchange Gemini announced support for dogecoin, after eToro added it to its online trading app on Tuesday.

Read more: The history of dogecoin, the joke currency that's worth more than Barclays and Lloyds

This helped push its market cap to over $70bn earlier in the week to become the fourth-most valued coin, according to Coinmarket. This was bigger than the market cap of COVID vaccine producer Moderna (MRNA), as well as Ford Motor Company (F) and oil giant BP (BP.L).

It has surged more than 14,000% since the start of the year.

According to reports from the Financial Times on Friday, Citigroup (C) is also weighing the option of providing cryptocurrency-related services after a surge in interest from its clients.

The bank has not yet decided if it will offer clients these services, but trading, custody, and financing are all under consideration, the newspaper said, citing Itay Tuchman, the bank's global head of foreign exchange.

"We see a greater likelihood that dogecoin will reach the $1-mark in the coming days, with probability rising for DOGE to rally to as high as $5 later in 2021 amid soaring social media interest,” Jesse Cohen, senior analyst at uk.investing.com, said.

“Dogecoin mania has shown once again the power of the retail crowd. Growing acceptance by retail traders and mounting support from high-profile billionaires will continue to add to the legitimacy of the meme cryptocurrency.”

Read more: Bank of England's Bailey on crypto: 'Be prepared to lose all your money'

Despite its rise to fame, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies still remain very volatile and experts continue to remain sceptical about using it as an investment.

Watch: What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency?