Dogecoin jumps another 40% to a fresh high - and one analyst says Elon Musk's upcoming 'SNL' appearance is driving buying
- Dogecoin soared by more than 40%, to a high near $0.70, on Wednesday.
- One analyst said Elon Musk's appearance on "Saturday Night Live" was driving the price action.
- Others said dogecoin's appeal lay in the idea that it was "mocking a frothy market."
Dogecoin continued its red-hot rally on Wednesday, rising by more than 40%, to an all-time high near $0.70.
Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at the trading platform Oanda, said it seemed people were piling into the asset ahead of Elon Musk's appearance on "Saturday Night Live."
Musk's pro-doge tweets have been a main driver of the breakneck rally, and traders do not want to miss out on any "SNL"-based price action, Moya said.
The Shiba Inu-themed token smashed through $0.50 on Tuesday for the first time after the eToro exchange said it would add the option to trade the meme cryptocurrency, opening it up to its 20 million users. Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, followed suit.
Dogecoin was up 24%, to $0.66089, over the 24 hours to 11 a.m. ET, according to CoinGecko, having earlier risen by about 40% to hit a record high of $0.68602.
"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," Moya said.
He said he thought Musk would likely have a sketch about cryptocurrencies that could go viral, driving up prices. Musk has already hinted at such a sketch, tweeting on April 28: "The Dogefather. SNL May 8."
But analysts at Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital argued in a research report that Musk was not the only thing behind dogecoin's rapid rise.
Dogecoin's appeal lies in the idea that it is a joke "mocking a frothy market with its playful indifference," the report said.
The cryptocurrency had risen by 1,041% over the 30 days to Wednesday and by 26,476% over the past year, CoinGecko's data showed.
However, the more traditional parts of the financial world remain highly critical of dogecoin. Many analysts have described it as simply a huge bubble in an asset with no use cases.