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Dogecoin soared Friday after a tweet from supporter Elon Musk, and as Coinbase said it would list the meme-inspired cryptocurrency.
The price of dogecoin climbed to an intraday high above 56 cents in early morning trade, according to Coin Metrics data. As of 10:30 a.m., dogecoin was up 39.4% at 54 cents per coin, on track for its best day since Apr. 16. It’s still down about 20% from a record high of nearly 67 cents only a week ago.
Musk tweeted Thursday that he was working with dogecoin developers to improve the efficiency of transactions.
On Wednesday, the Tesla CEO made a surprise announcement that his electric car firm would stop accepting bitcoin as payment due to concerns over its environmental impact.
Dogecoin isn’t taken very seriously by loyal bitcoin supporters. It started in 2013 as a joke, inspired by the “Doge” meme, but has since found a growing community online. Dogecoin is now the fourth-largest crypto by market value on CoinMarketCap, worth over $68 billion.
Financial experts warn that dogecoin is a highly speculative asset. It has stoked worries over a potential bubble in crypto markets — though some economists would say all cryptocurrencies are in a bubble.
Last week, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned crypto investors should be “prepared to lose all your money,” echoing a similar warning from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority.
Bitcoin was also higher Friday, with the world’s biggest digital asset up 3.7% at a price of $50,695. Ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency, rose 10.3%, to $4,052.
