Elon Musk Calls Dogecoin a Hustle and the Future of Currency That’s ‘Going to Take Over the World’ on SNL

Dogecoin has a wild ride this weekend starting with Elon Musk’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) and ending with Spacex saying it will launch DOGE-1 mission to the moon. Musk called dogecoin “a hustle” on the show but also said that it is “the future of currency” that’s “going to take over the world.”

Dogecoin Is ‘Unstoppable Financial Vehicle That’s Going to Take Over the World, Musk Said on SNL

The much-anticipated SNL with Elon Musk and musical guest Miley Cyrus was aired last night. During the show, Musk mentioned cryptocurrency and dogecoin several times.

The first mention was during his monologue when his mother, Maye, joined him. “I’m excited for my Mother’s Day gift. I just hope it’s not dogecoin,” she told her son. The Spacex CEO replied: “It is. It sure is.”

Then, during SNL’s satirical Weekend Update segment, Musk returned in the role of a financial expert called “Lloyd Ostertag.” As soon as he sat down with anchor Michael Che, he said, “Call me the Dogefather,” a term he previously used in a tweet.

Che proceeded to ask the expert, “What are cryptocurrencies?” Musk responded as Lloyd Ostertag:

They are a type of digital money. But, instead of being controlled by a central government, they are decentralized using blockchain technology … And lately, prices have been soaring for cryptos like bitcoin, ethereum, and especially dogecoin.

During the SNL show, DOGE did not pump, however. In fact, the price of the meme cryptocurrency fell almost 30% to about 43 cents before bouncing back slightly, according to data from markets.Bitcoin.com. Crypto trading app Robinhood also experienced an outage during that time, possibly due to heavy DOGE selloffs. The firm said that the outage only lasted less than an hour.

Price of dogecoin during Saturday Night Live. Source: Markets.Bitcoin.com.

The financial expert Lloyd Ostertag was then asked, “What is dogecoin?” The Tesla technoking explained: “Well, it actually started as a joke based on an internet meme, but it’s taken off in a very real way … It was created in 2013, and has a circulating supply of 117 billion coins, of which 113 billion have already been mined.”

However, DOGE’s circulating supply is actually a little more than 129.53 billion coins and there is no limit at all on the eventual issuance.

Still trying to understand what dogecoin was, Che took out a dollar bill from his pocket and said to Musk/Ostertag: “This is a dollar and it’s real,” to which Musk mumbled, “sort of.” Musk then said dogecoin is “about as real as that dollar,” adding:

It’s the future of currency. It’s an unstoppable financial vehicle that’s going to take over the world.

However, Che still did not get what dogecoin was and asked what it was again. Musk/Ostertag reiterated: “I keep telling you, it’s a cryptocurrency you can trade for conventional money.”

Che responded, “Oh, it’s a hustle.” Musk then replied laughingly: “Yeah, it’s a hustle.” Before the segment ended, the Tesla CEO/Ostertag howled, “To the moooon.”

Following SNL, Musk’s company Spacex said that it is launching DOGE-1 to the moon, which will be “the first-ever commercial lunar payload in history paid entirely with DOGE.” It “will launch aboard a Spacex Falcon 9 rocket.”

Do you agree with Elon Musk about dogecoin being a hustle but also a currency that will take over the world? Let us know in the comments section below.