Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency market has been surging recently, pushed on by iPhone maker Apple and social media giant Facebook’s newfound interest in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, though some are concerned the bubble might have burst this week.
The bitcoin price, up over 200% since the beginning of the year, has largely eclipsed most of its contemporaries, many of which have failed to perform as well as bitcoin itself.
Now, the dogecoin price, a tongue-in-cheek bitcoin rival named by Tesla chief executive Elon Musk as his “fav” cryptocurrency earlier this year, has suddenly jumped by 32% in just a few minutes after Binance, the world’s largest bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange by volume, said it will be listing the coin.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is known for his playful behavior on Twitter, has described bitcoin rival dogecoin as his “fav” cryptocurrency and briefly named himself dogecoin CEO.
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Malta-based Binance announced it would be listing Dogecoin later today, expected to begin trading at 8am New York time, with users already able to deposit dogecoin in preparation for trading.
The move could raise eyebrows in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency community after Binance controversially delisted bitcoin rival bitcoin SV earlier this year, leading to accusations the exchange was playing favorites with cryptocurrencies.
“This one is an exception, as there isn’t much new tech development (I guess it was never about the tech for this one),” Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao, often known as CZ, said via Twitter, commenting on Binance’s dogecoin listing. “The users/community is large, and a famous “ex-CEO” (cough @elonmusk) helps! Enjoy!”
The dogecoin price has leaped higher unexpectedly, pushing its market capitalization to over $500,000,000 and making it the 27th most valuable cryptocurrency.
CoinDesk
Elon Musk has yet to weigh in on the development but he has previously tweeted “dogecoin might be my fav cryptocurrency,” adding “it’s pretty cool,” shortly after branding bitcoin itself “brilliant.”
Dogecoin has found other high-profile supporters as well as Musk. Last month, John McAfee, the millionaire creator of McAfee security software-turned U.S. presidential hopeful and globe-trotting adventurer, praised dogecoin as “one of the fastest growing coins based on use.”
“Doge started life as joke/prank coin,” McAfee said via Twitter. “The coin now has a market cap of $360 million. The crypto market is, in no way, related to the stock market. Inherent value is, ultimately, based on usage. Go figure.”
Dogecoin, surprisingly one of the oldest bitcoin rivals, was co-created in 2013 by a then 26-year-old Australian, Jackson Palmer, after joking about it on Twitter.
Source : From the Web