SpaceX might not be the only thing Elon Musk has sent into the stratosphere.
Dogecoin, a meme cryptocurrency that was launched as a joke in 2013, has risen more than 100 percent in the past week as Musk, an influential crypto backer, prepares to host “Saturday Night Live.”
Musk, who announced his SNL appearance by tweeting “The Dogefather SNL May 8” last week, also wrote on Twitter that the coin will “definitely” make an appearance in a comedy sketch.
The currency briefly traded at $0.70 per coin Tuesday, and is now valued higher than Twitter and Ford, according to BeInCrypto.
The Space X billionaire, whose Tesla company now accepts crypto payments for cars, has sent the price of the Shiba Inu inspired currency soaring several times in recent months.
After calling Bitcoin “bs” in December, Musk tweeted “One word: Doge,” propping the currency up to about half of a penny.
In February, the meme currency once again took off after Musk mentioned it in a series of tweets.
Investors who put $1,000 into the currency on Jan. 1 would have $112,500 in their wallets as of Wednesday night; a percentage increase of 11,150, according to Coinbase’s pricing history.
Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss announced his company would allow trading of the coin on Tuesday, and extolled its alleged virtues in a blog post.
“Dogecoin is the people’s money,” Winklevoss wrote. “It’s organic, irreverent, and fun. It’s not forced on us by a government or some other central authority, it’s chosen by us, for us — by the people, for the people. Wow.”
The Oakland Athletics became the first baseball team to accept Dogecoin for ticket sales Tuesday, Coindesk reported.
On Sunday, Mark Cuban, whose Dallas Mavericks also accept the currency, took to Twitter to explain his support.
“As long as more companies take doge for products/services, then Doge can be a usable currency because it MAY hold its purchasing value better than a $ in your bank,” Cuban wrote. “Yes, a joke is now legit.”
However some bankers warn that the joke currency and other cryptos could end their dizzying run before SNL’s Weekend Update.
“It is dangerous being a speculator [in bitcoin], long or short,” Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz told MarketWatch. “It is a danger buying here and a danger [betting against dogecoin] here…you could lose a lot of money.”