Dogecoin, a digital token that started as a joke, spikes 140% after traders in a crypto-themed Reddit forum trigger Wall Street Bets copycat rally

Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images

• Day traders on a crypto-themed subreddit helped drive the price of Dogecoin up by as much as 140%.
• Members of the "SatoshiStreetBets" forum called on others to buy the meme-based cryptocurrency.
• The Wall Street Bets short-squeeze frenzy has stretched into the world of cryptocurrencies. 
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The short squeeze mania around Reddit-fueled stocks has extended to the cryptocurrency world, specifically for the digital asset based on the popular "doge" meme, Dogecoin. 

Dogecoin surged as much as 140% to $0.0176 on Thursday, according to data from trading tracker TradingView. The coin hasn't received as much love as its rivals in the crypto-verse: Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Emulating the same frenzy set off by r/WallStreetBets traders, users on a forum called SatoshiStreetBets promoted the cryptocurrency in an attempt to replicate the astonishing gains for GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry, Bed Bath & Beyond, and other highly shorted stocks.

The crypto forum's users made references to the GameStop saga blown up by the WSB subreddit, urging people to buy into Dogecoin. Several posts like "Dogecoin was and always will be the first meme stock, before GME," and "IN DOGE WE TRUST #ALLIN" can be seen on the discussion thread.

Read more: A chief investment strategist breaks down how the GameStop saga could upend long-standing practices on Wall Street - and shares her 4-part advice for navigating the frenzied trading environment

People on Twitter were also calling on billionaire Elon Musk to tweet about Dogecoin, hoping that would help fuel the intended rally for the digital token. Just a day earlier, Musk's "Gamestonks!!" tweet helped shares in GameStop soar 157% higher.

Musk has in fact tweeted about Dogecoin a number of times previously, and said it just might be his favorite cryptocurrency. His last tweet on the coin was about a month ago when he simply said - "One word: Doge."

@elonmusk/Twitter

The cryptocurrency's latest spike is similar to that seen last year when a viral TikTok video attracted half a million views, pushing its price higher by 35% in two days.

Dogecoin's market cap is around $2.1 billion, placing it at the 25th-highest among cryptocurrencies, according to data from CoinGecko.

Read more: Morgan Stanley handpicks 18 US stocks to buy for the best business models that deliver market-beating returns for years to come

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