Crypto darling Dogecoin (pronounced doje-coin) has taken the crypto world by storm, rocketing to all-time highs this week and capturing the attention of what had become a relatively sleepy Bitcoin-oriented cryptoverse. Perhaps of equal importance, Doge has dominated social media this week, with meme after adorable meme of dogs blasting off on rocketships to the moon. Not only has this provided hours of enjoyment, it reveals what Doge has that other cryptocurrencies do not: a social media engine powered at its core by an organic, loyal, dog-loving community of would-be do-gooders.

Doge topped out just under $0.70 around 2:10 a.m. New York time on Wednesday May 5, 2021, up almost 60% over the prior 24 hours. Earlier this week, Doge busted through the $0.50 ceiling that had long been targeted by Doge enthusiasts but which had seemed a psychological barrier for the market. And while it is said Dogecoin was established as a joke, its trading volume this week was not, as the Doge market averaged over $43 billion in transactions per weekday through Wednesday (by comparison, Bitcoin was around $70 billion). On Wednesday, Dogecoin's market cap sat at over $76 billion, ranking it the world’s No. 4 cryptocurrency, behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance Coin.

Some have attributed the lag between last month's planned "Doge Day," which fell flat as the coin hung in the low $0.30 range (see Legal Update, Anticipated Dogecoin "Doge Day" Spike Fails to Materialize), and Doge’s actual spike this week to the time it takes new crypto traders to establish their accounts and transfer funds. The popular crypto exchange Coinbase does not yet list Dogecoin for trading, though its listing is said to be imminent, which should provide a further bounce to Dogecoin's value. In the meantime, traders are left to use more nascent exchanges such as Kraken and Robinhood, which have encountered challenges during the Doge frenzy, including reported outages and fund-transfer issues.

The more likely explanation for Doge's performance, however, is all the fun Dogebuzz rocking the twitterverse this week, from rumors that self-appointed "Dogefather" Elon Musk is planning a Dogecoin skit for his SNL appearance this weekend to reports that Musk has a "secret Doge satellite" in the works. Ground-floor Doge supporter Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, has also issued a number of noteworthy Doge tweets this week. And the Oakland A's major league baseball team added its name to the list of high-profile businesses that have begun to accept Dogecoin as payment. A petition has even been launched for Amazon to begin accepting Doge.

This week's Dogecoin spike, meanwhile, has resulted in a sluggish week for Bitcoin, which has been middling in the mid-$50,000 range, as some crypto traders exchange Bitcoin for Doge.

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