The meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE) has continued its extraordinary rally over the past 24 hours, skyrocketing more than 40% since yesterday. After recently surpassing a $50 billion market valuation, Dogecoin’s market capitalization has now exceeded $71 billion. At the time of writing, DOGE accounts for approximately 3% of the entire crypto-economy, gradually eating into Bitcoin’s market dominance.
Record-Breaking Price Action
On Tuesday (May 4, 2021), DOGE touched an all-time high of $0.57 per unit, gaining over 45% intraday and 97% over the past seven days. The global 24-hour trading volume reached $15.91 billion. Against Bitcoin (BTC), Dogecoin rose 41% in the last day, and against Ethereum (ETH) it gained 51% over the week. Currently, DOGE holds the fourth position among all cryptocurrencies by market cap, surpassing the market value of Honda Motor Company (~$55 billion).
Even more striking: DOGE has surged 944% against the U.S. dollar and over 1,000% against Bitcoin in just 30 days. Over the past 90 days, the gains stand at 1,508% against USD and more than 900% against BTC. Unlike Bitcoin’s deflationary design, Dogecoin has a circulating supply of 129.46 billion DOGE and is inherently inflationary, yet this has not deterred investors.
Whale Concentration and Celebrity Catalyst
On-chain data reveals that a single address holds 36.71 billion DOGE, representing 28.38% of the total supply, making it the wealthiest Dogecoin holder. Social media buzz around #HODL and Dogecoin-related tags continues to trend. Tesla CEO Elon Musk once again acted as a key catalyst by tweeting about his upcoming appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) on May 8, calling himself the “Dogefather.”
Konstantin Boyko-Romanovsky, CEO of Allnodes, commented: “Dogecoin continues to defy expectations within the crypto market. I believe part of the reason is the hype surrounding it from celebrities like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban. Since the coin has an inflationary supply, it is affordable. Mark Cuban sees it as an alternative to Bitcoin for payment transactions. $60,000 for a single Bitcoin may be intimidating to some. In a way, Doge is more like a USD but in a digital form.”
At press time, DOGE is trading between $0.48 and $0.553, slightly off its recent high. Despite the euphoria, investors are cautioned about extreme volatility as the meme coin’s rally depends heavily on social sentiment and celebrity endorsements.