Dogecoin Plunges 30% After Elon Musk Calls Cryptocurrency a Hustle on SNL
Dogecoin experiences a massive sell-off during Elon Musk's Saturday Night Live hosting gig after he labels the meme coin a hustle. The cryptocurrency briefly recovers as Robinhood users face frustrating platform outages during the trading frenzy.
Dogecoin takes a massive hit as Elon Musk hosts Saturday Night Live, with the meme-inspired cryptocurrency plunging as much as 29.5% during the broadcast. Musk refers to himself as the "Dogefather" during the opening monologue and the "Weekend Update" segment, but shocks investors by calling dogecoin a "hustle" rather than endorsing it. The price drops to 49 cents before partially rebounding to 57 cents as the show progresses.
The sudden sell-off creates chaos for retail traders as Robinhood experiences a major outage during the peak trading frenzy. Users flood Twitter with complaints about the crypto trading platform failing to execute their orders. Robinhood confirms the issue and restores service within an hour, though this marks the second time in a month that the platform struggles to handle a massive surge in dogecoin trading volume.
Wall Street analysts and crypto enthusiasts watch the spectacle closely, with many expecting Musk to push the coin's value higher rather than trigger a dip. Meanwhile, Tesla's electric vehicle rivals, including Lucid, Ford, and Volkswagen, cleverly capitalize on the massive audience by purchasing advertising time during the highly rated episode. The live broadcast draws massive online engagement as fans simultaneously stream the show and track dogecoin's volatile price movements in real time.