NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

Dogecoin: Barefoot Investor's warning over Elon Musk's favourite crypto

By Jai Bednall
news.com.au·
8 May, 2021 04:56 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Dogecoin, a digital currency created by Australia's Jackson Palmer that was launched in 2013 and takes its logo from a popular meme known as Doge. Photo / Getty Images

Dogecoin, a digital currency created by Australia's Jackson Palmer that was launched in 2013 and takes its logo from a popular meme known as Doge. Photo / Getty Images

Scott Pape, better known as the Barefoot Investor, has issued a word of warning to his followers who are considering investing in the red-hot cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

Dogecoin, a digital currency created by Australia's Jackson Palmer that was launched in 2013 and takes its logo from a popular meme known as Doge, has seen its value soar to record heights in recent days.

It's a phenomenon some analysts are putting down to the continued public promotion it's received from billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk.

Musk, who has more than 53 million Twitter followers, is hosting popular American TV show Saturday Night Live this weekend and this appearance — combined with Musk's regular tweets about Dogecoin — has seen its price skyrocket.

Investors who held US$1000 ($1370) of the currency on January 1 would have US$112,500 ($154,550) in their wallets as of Wednesday night.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

ur welcome pic.twitter.com/e2KF57KLxb

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2021

It's incredible growth but best-selling financial advice author Pape, in an email to his subscribers late last month, could not have been more emphatic in his rejection of Dogecoin as an investment play.

While conceding Dogecoin was the best-performing cryptocurrency over the past six years — far outstripping the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum — Pape noted it was "set up as a piss-take by its Aussie founder" and had "zero tangible value".

"It is worthless," he wrote. "So do I feel a twinge of regret for not getting in? No.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"For much the same reason that I've never contemplated putting one per cent of my net worth into the pokies (Just in case, you know, I win the jackpot).

"Here's the point: Life is really hard when you believe you can make a quick buck from magical dog memes.

"It's stressful being a gambler. There is no skill involved, and the odds are stacked against you.

"You see, in order to make real money you have to sell. And every man and his dog is planning to sell out of Dogecoin right at the top. Every single one of them.

Discover more

Lifestyle

Elon Musk: Memelord or meme thief?

07 May 11:35 PM
Economy

Jarden Brief: Bezos sells nearly US$2 billion in Amazon stock

06 May 08:35 PM
Business

MacKenzie Scott gave away billions. The scam artists followed

09 May 01:46 AM
Economy

Jarden Brief: Dire impact of semi-conductor shortage on car industry

05 May 08:16 PM

"It's called the 'greater fool theory' (ie, you only win when some greater fool buys in at a higher price), and history is littered with people who abruptly discovered that they in fact were the fool.

"If you're persuaded to sell your boring index funds and lay down with dogs, I can almost guarantee you'll eventually end up with financial fleas," Pape added.

After pumping up Dogecoin's popularity for months, Musk also warned investors to be wary of cryptocurrencies ahead of his Saturday Night Live debut.

"Cryptocurrency is promising, but please invest with caution!" the Tesla CEO tweeted early Friday morning.

The rare investment warning from Musk comes as the price of Dogecoin — a cryptocurrency represented by a Shiba Inu meme — has soared to about 60 cents per token, according to CoinDesk data.

It's up a whopping 10,400 per cent since January 1, CoinDesk data shows.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Dogecoin is surging because many cryptocurrency traders do not want to miss out on any buzz that stems from Elon Musk's hosting of Saturday Night Live," Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, wrote on Tuesday.

with New York Post

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Business

New Zealand

Businesses urged to bypass free mediation service due to wait-list

New Zealand

NZ avocado exports surge

Premium
OpinionMary Holm

Mary Holm: The pros and cons of owning rental property in retirement


Sponsored

Global real estate without the passport or paperwork

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Businesses urged to bypass free mediation service due to wait-list
New Zealand

Businesses urged to bypass free mediation service due to wait-list

The current wait time for mediation is seven weeks due to high demand.

09 Aug 12:00 AM
NZ avocado exports surge
New Zealand

NZ avocado exports surge

08 Aug 05:00 PM
Premium
Premium
Mary Holm: The pros and cons of owning rental property in retirement
Mary Holm
OpinionMary Holm

Mary Holm: The pros and cons of owning rental property in retirement

08 Aug 05:00 PM


Global real estate without the passport or paperwork
Sponsored

Global real estate without the passport or paperwork

05 Aug 11:43 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP