The price of open source peer-to-peer cryptocurrency Dogecoin has fallen sharply in the past 48 hours after Tesla Inc. chief executive officer Elon Musk called the cryptocurrency a "hustle" during an appearance on U.S. TV show Saturday Night Live, ABC News reported Monday.
Dogecoin was last quoted at $0.53 on Coindesk Monday - down 4.29% over the past 24 hours in overnight trading. About $44.91 billion in the coin was traded in that period. It was quoted as low as $0.42 on cryptocurrency exchange Binance - down significantly from around $0.65 before the show. The token retraced some of that move later Sunday.
The billionaire cryptocurrency supporter Musk said Dogecoin "is the future of currency. It's an unstoppable financial vehicle that's going to take over the world."
When show cast member Michael Che countered, "So, it's a hustle?" Musk - the self-proclaimed "Dogefather" - replied, "Yeah, it's a hustle," as he laughed and even shouted the Dogecoin phrase "to the moon," reports said.
Musk has been a vocal backer of Dogecoin. He frequently tweets about it and just one of his offbeat comments to his 50 million Twitter followers can send the cryptocurrency rising.
During his SNL appearance Musk wished his mother Maye a happy Mother's Day. "I'm excited for my Mother's Day gift. I just hope that it's not Dogecoin," she told her billionaire son, according to The Independent.
Dogecoin has seen substantial rises and falls over the past month from $0.05 in April.
Late last week Musk tweeted: "Cryptocurrency is promising, but please invest with caution!" It should be considered "speculation at this point...you know; don't go too far in the cryptocurrency speculation."
Meanwhile, Musk said his rocket company SpaceX will now accept Dogecoin as mode of payment, the BBC said Monday.
In a tweet, Musk said SpaceX will launch the "DOGE-1 mission to the moon" early next year, according to the report.
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