On May 8, billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared on “Saturday Night Live” after having tweeted about cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) for months. Since that appearance, the digital asset is down nearly 80%.
Dogecoin’s value peaked right before the show aired on the expectation that Musk, who had become known as a doge bull, might plug the coin, sending it higher, or “to the moon.” Musk did talk about it during the Weekend Update segment – he was asked repeatedly by hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost what it was – which led to the punchline that dogecoin was “a hustle.”
Dogecoin’s value plummeted immediately after. Investors figured that whatever happened on the show was probably not great for the investment.
Originally created in 2013 as a joke, dogecoin suddenly became worth real money on crypto exchanges as Musk began getting behind it on social media. The Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX founder had won the hearts of many viral investors during the GameStop saga, and even though many figured he was touting doge ironically, the attention he bestowed on it resulted in gains. Buying a coin as a joke is, after all, still buying a coin.
Dogecoin’s peak, so far, was before right before that SNL appearance, before people either realized Musk was doing a dogecoin as a bit, or they decided the joke had run its course.
As of mid-July Musk is still tweeting about doge, but not quite as much as he used to and perhaps crypto investors are desensitized to billionaire moguls declaring dogecoin is the “people’s crypto.”
Some investors, however, are still very much all in as believers, even though the dogecoin’s founder has disowned the coin. According to CNBC, an investor who became a millionaire (on paper) when dogecoin soared has lost his millionaire status but is still buying the dips, consolidating his position.
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Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, personal finance, retail, airlines, and more. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann.
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