#Dogecoin soars as Coinbase adds token to platform, Elon Musk posts meme

Dogecoin prices skyrocketed on Wednesday after crypto-trading giant Coinbase said it would start allowing users to trade the joke cryptocurrency on its platform.

The dog-themed coin surged 34 percent to 43 cents in late-morning trades after Coinbase announced the change in a blog post, according to Coindesk data. Coinbase users were allowed to start transferring Dogecoin to their accounts starting Tuesday, and can trade the cryptocurrency starting around 12 p.m. Thursday. 

Dogecoin — whose mascot is a cute, furry Shiba Inu dog — will trade against the US dollar, Euro and British pound, as well as cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Tether. 

The joke coin’s recent surge also came after a Dogecoin-related meme was posted on Twitter by Tesla CEO Elon Musk at around 3 a.m. on Wednesday. 

While Dogecoin currently boasts a market capitalization of more than $54 billion, the cryptocurrency was created in 2013 as a way to make fun of hype surrounding other cryptocurrencies. 

The coin soared more than 2,300 percent from 3 cents in late 2020 to a peak of 73 cents in early May, buoyed by tweets from Musk and contagious hype among online traders. The price plummeted later in May when Musk called Dogecoin a “hustle” while hosting Saturday Night Live. 

Coinbase went public in April with shares trading as high as $381. But as prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have plummeted in recent months, Coinbase shares have since fallen 36 percent, recently trading at $242 on Wednesday.