An anticipated surge in the value of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin on April 20, 2021 failed to materialize, as the currency lost value on the day. Dogecoin (pronounced "doje-coin") was the subject of a coordinated social-media drive that encouraged market participants to undertake a massive buy of the cryptocurrency on the popular 4/20 cannabis date in an attempt to spike the price and replicate the recent GameStop phenomenon in the crypto markets.

Dogecoin has emerged as the latest "it" coin – widely viewed as the most exciting development in cryptocurrency since Bitcoin – due in part to its facetious inception on social media platform Reddit, where it first became popular with the platform's dog-loving community as a "like" mechanism. The digital image of the coin is notoriously emblazoned with the image of Kabosu, a shiba-inu (Japanese hunting dog) who remains popular on social media. The Dogecoin community's choice of 4/20 for "Doge Day" reflects the community's counterculture leanings, though its dog-friendly genesis and contrast to pricey cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have earned it the title "coin of the people."

Dogecoin has recently soared in popularity as the result of a number of factors, including tweets by personalities like Elon Musk, who has predicted a meteoric rise of the cryptocurrency and vowed to literally take it "to the moon" – which has quickly become the coin's online rallying cry, replete with ubiquitous memes of Kabosu on emoji rockets to the moon. Meanwhile, several noteworthy businesses have reportedly announced that they will begin accepting Dogecoin as a form of payment, including the Dallas Mavericks (whose owner, Mark Cuban, recently touted Dogecoin online) and Newegg online marketplace, among others.

Despite the momentum and the coordinated online push, the coin plateaued for most of the day, dropping as low as $0.29 toward the end of the New York business day. A mild recovery pushed it back over $0.30 after hours, but it never approached its all-time high of just under $0.41, established last week.

Throughout the day, rumors circulated that large market players were attempting to drive the price of the currency down in order to obtain a favorable buy-in. A more likely explanation is that Doge trading logistics proved cumbersome for crypto traders. Because Dogecoin is not yet listed on the popular crypto exchange Coinbase, market participants were in many cases forced to turn to less-well-developed platforms to purchase Dogecoin, such as Kraken, which does not yet have ACH fund transfer capabilities, creating challenges for potential buyers looking to trade in real time.

Nevertheless, Dogecoin enthusiasts have plenty to look forward to. Dogecoin reportedly maintains a market capitalization in excess of $50 billion – more than many large corporations, including Ford Motor Co. – essentially based on word-of-mouth and online buzz. Moreover, it is anticipated that the listing of Dogecoin on Coinbase is imminent, which should provide greater market access and a much-anticipated bounce in value.

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