Business magnate and self-appointed Technoking Elon Musk gave two shoutouts to Dogecoin during his stint as the host of Saturday Night Live. Musk mentioned the cryptocurrency in his opening monologue at the beginning of the episode and then again during the “Weekend Update” segment. His cavalier endorsements have not done much good for the currency’s price.
Musk is a big proponent of Dogecoin, and for the most part, he seemed to be singing its praises on SNL this weekend. His first mention of it came at the end of his five-minute monologue, which included an appearance by his mother. She said: “I’m excited for my Mother’s Day gift, I just hope it’s not Dogecoin,” to which Musk quickly responded: “It is,” his head bobbing with excitement. His second mention of the cryptocurrency came during a “Weekend Update” segment where he played a new character, financial expert Lloyd Ostertag — a.k.a. “The Dogefather.”
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In this segment, Musk mocked the increasingly cliche explanations for what cryptocurrency is, while hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost repeatedly asked, “So, what is Dogecoin?” Finally, at the end of the bit, Musk mentioned that Dogecoin could be easily traded for more standard currency, leading Che to remark: “Oh, so it’s a hustle.”
“Yeah, it’s a hustle,” Musk said, smiling. With those four words, he may have doomed his own portfolio. According to a report by Reuters, the price of Dogecoin has tanked since that sketch, to the horror of many investors who bought the currency on Musk’s advice.
Dogecoin was valued at about $0.65 before SNL began, and reportedly dipped as low as $0.47 aftereward — a 28 percent drop. On social media, speculators are divided over whether this is truly a bad sign or just a temporary bump in the road, as Musk also shouted their favorite catchphrase: “to the moon!”
Musk himself has told social media followers to “invest with caution,” saying that cryptocurrency in general “should be considered speculation at this point. And so, you know, don’t go too far in the crypto speculation.” However, he has also enthusiastically announced his own major investments in Dogecoin.
Musk often sings the praises of cryptocurrencies not as speculative investments but as “the future of currency on Earth.” Like others, he champions the revolutionary blockchain technology it is built on and the decentralized nature of the coins. He believes this will protect it from the negative interest rates of more conventional currency.
The Dogecoin crash was just a part of the aftermath of Musk’s time on SNL. His episode is now streaming on Hulu, and you can get a free trial to watch it here.
