WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.992 align:middle line:90% 00:00:03.992 --> 00:00:05.967 align:middle line:90% [MUSIC PLAYING] 00:00:05.967 --> 00:00:07.600 align:middle line:84% SEANA SMITH: Let's talk about the crypto markets. 00:00:07.600 --> 00:00:10.160 align:middle line:84% And this time, it's not Bitcoin that we're focusing on. 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:12.070 align:middle line:84% We're going to talk about Dogecoin and Ethereum. 00:00:12.070 --> 00:00:14.080 align:middle line:84% But first, let's start with Dogecoin, because that has 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:15.220 align:middle line:90% been a huge story this week. 00:00:15.220 --> 00:00:18.220 align:middle line:84% We want to bring in Dan Roberts for a little bit more on this. 00:00:18.220 --> 00:00:19.960 align:middle line:84% And Dan, we saw this massive surge. 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:23.560 align:middle line:84% Some of this being attributed to a few tweets by Elon Musk. 00:00:23.560 --> 00:00:26.290 align:middle line:84% But help me understand what exactly is going 00:00:26.290 --> 00:00:27.850 align:middle line:84% on here, because from my understanding, 00:00:27.850 --> 00:00:31.067 align:middle line:84% it's a cryptocurrency that was started as a joke. 00:00:31.067 --> 00:00:33.000 align:middle line:84% DAN ROBERTS: That's right, Seana, it was started as a joke 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:34.510 align:middle line:90% and nothing has really changed. 00:00:34.510 --> 00:00:36.580 align:middle line:84% I mean, people call it a meme crypto. 00:00:36.580 --> 00:00:38.880 align:middle line:84% Of course, at this point, if you've used the internet 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:40.270 align:middle line:90% at all, you know what doge is. 00:00:40.270 --> 00:00:44.340 align:middle line:84% It's that Shiba Inu meme saying things like, much wow. 00:00:44.340 --> 00:00:48.060 align:middle line:84% And it is up 700% in 2021 so far. 00:00:48.060 --> 00:00:49.890 align:middle line:84% You mentioned the Elon Musk tweets. 00:00:49.890 --> 00:00:51.270 align:middle line:84% He has done it quite a few times. 00:00:51.270 --> 00:00:53.130 align:middle line:84% And that certainly has added fuel to the fire. 00:00:53.130 --> 00:00:55.320 align:middle line:84% But already, Dogecoin has really been 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:56.820 align:middle line:90% kind of abuzz on social media. 00:00:56.820 --> 00:00:58.710 align:middle line:84% That's what's driven the price higher. 00:00:58.710 --> 00:01:01.860 align:middle line:84% And actually, amid that GameStop and AMC madness 00:01:01.860 --> 00:01:06.060 align:middle line:84% last week, when Robinhood had to temporarily halt instant buying 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:08.970 align:middle line:84% of cryptocurrencies, it turned off that feature 00:01:08.970 --> 00:01:10.620 align:middle line:90% for Bitcoin and Dogecoin. 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:12.570 align:middle line:84% So that gives you a sense, amid kind 00:01:12.570 --> 00:01:13.920 align:middle line:84% of all the cryptocurrencies there are, 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:18.030 align:middle line:84% those were the two that were rising so suddenly 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:20.433 align:middle line:84% and frantically that Robinhood decided, wait a minute, 00:01:20.433 --> 00:01:21.600 align:middle line:84% we gotta turn off this feature that 00:01:21.600 --> 00:01:24.840 align:middle line:84% allows customers instant access to bank transfers. 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:26.550 align:middle line:90% But it is a meme cryptocurrency. 00:01:26.550 --> 00:01:29.410 align:middle line:84% There's not a company or a real practical application 00:01:29.410 --> 00:01:30.210 align:middle line:90% behind it. 00:01:30.210 --> 00:01:32.220 align:middle line:84% But you can buy it and trade it on a number 00:01:32.220 --> 00:01:33.960 align:middle line:90% of big mainstream exchanges. 00:01:33.960 --> 00:01:35.010 align:middle line:90% Not Coinbase. 00:01:35.010 --> 00:01:36.750 align:middle line:84% And people are making real money off this. 00:01:36.750 --> 00:01:39.280 align:middle line:84% It's funny, you know, I did an explainer just reminding people 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:40.080 align:middle line:90% the origins. 00:01:40.080 --> 00:01:42.420 align:middle line:84% It was created as a joke in 2013. 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:44.280 align:middle line:84% And I was blown up over the last 24 hours 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:46.870 align:middle line:84% on Twitter by people saying, how dare you! 00:01:46.870 --> 00:01:47.670 align:middle line:90% It's not a joke. 00:01:47.670 --> 00:01:49.440 align:middle line:84% The money I've made isn't a joke! 00:01:49.440 --> 00:01:51.900 align:middle line:84% It's like, OK, it was started as a joke. 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:52.830 align:middle line:90% That's just a fact. 00:01:52.830 --> 00:01:55.140 align:middle line:84% But again, people have bought it in the last few weeks 00:01:55.140 --> 00:01:57.150 align:middle line:84% and already sold it and made real money here. 00:01:57.150 --> 00:01:58.680 align:middle line:84% But Elon Musk knows what he's doing. 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:01.770 align:middle line:84% He has cautioned that the tweets about Dogecoin are a joke, 00:02:01.770 --> 00:02:03.210 align:middle line:84% but that doesn't stop the price from going 00:02:03.210 --> 00:02:05.057 align:middle line:90% up when he tweets about it. 00:02:05.057 --> 00:02:06.090 align:middle line:90% SEANA SMITH: Certainly doesn't. 00:02:06.090 --> 00:02:09.090 align:middle line:84% People get excited it seems like about anything 00:02:09.090 --> 00:02:10.110 align:middle line:90% that Elon Musk has tweeted. 00:02:10.110 --> 00:02:11.970 align:middle line:84% We've seen it with several memes here 00:02:11.970 --> 00:02:13.500 align:middle line:90% over the last couple of weeks. 00:02:13.500 --> 00:02:15.120 align:middle line:90% Dan, what about Ethereum? 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:16.740 align:middle line:84% I talked about that in the intro. 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:17.900 align:middle line:90% It's up a little bit today. 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:19.410 align:middle line:90% What, up just around 4 and 1/2%. 00:02:19.410 --> 00:02:22.153 align:middle line:84% But this week, it's been another huge gainer. 00:02:22.153 --> 00:02:23.220 align:middle line:90% DAN ROBERTS: Yeah, that's right. 00:02:23.220 --> 00:02:24.960 align:middle line:84% And Seana, earlier today, Ethereum 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:28.380 align:middle line:84% hit a new all-time high, around $1,741. 00:02:28.380 --> 00:02:29.970 align:middle line:84% You know, it's the token of Ethereum. 00:02:29.970 --> 00:02:31.860 align:middle line:84% And the way I always explain it to people 00:02:31.860 --> 00:02:34.600 align:middle line:84% is, if you understand even the basics of Bitcoin 00:02:34.600 --> 00:02:36.600 align:middle line:84% and you understand that there's something called the Bitcoin 00:02:36.600 --> 00:02:40.020 align:middle line:84% blockchain, Ethereum is a separate blockchain that 00:02:40.020 --> 00:02:41.820 align:middle line:84% was specifically designed really to be 00:02:41.820 --> 00:02:43.230 align:middle line:90% a better Bitcoin blockchain. 00:02:43.230 --> 00:02:46.500 align:middle line:84% It's specifically made for decentralized apps or DAPs 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:48.660 align:middle line:84% to be built on the Ethereum chain. 00:02:48.660 --> 00:02:50.700 align:middle line:84% And the reason the price has gone up so much recently, 00:02:50.700 --> 00:02:54.090 align:middle line:84% is there have been a ton of new use cases and companies that 00:02:54.090 --> 00:02:57.660 align:middle line:84% aim to make use of DeFi, decentralized finance, which is 00:02:57.660 --> 00:03:00.240 align:middle line:84% really just the latest buzzy way to say what it's always been 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:02.730 align:middle line:84% for, which is financial applications that 00:03:02.730 --> 00:03:03.690 align:middle line:90% cut out the middleman. 00:03:03.690 --> 00:03:04.950 align:middle line:90% They are decentralized. 00:03:04.950 --> 00:03:06.630 align:middle line:84% And all of these exciting new projects 00:03:06.630 --> 00:03:10.230 align:middle line:84% are being built on Ethereum, not on the Bitcoin blockchain. 00:03:10.230 --> 00:03:12.590 align:middle line:84% Also, the real price action today is probably tied 00:03:12.590 --> 00:03:13.590 align:middle line:90% to what's happening on Monday. 00:03:13.590 --> 00:03:15.390 align:middle line:84% This coming Monday you're going to see 00:03:15.390 --> 00:03:18.000 align:middle line:90% CME launch Ether Futures. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.690 align:middle line:84% And actually back in 2017 when CME launched Bitcoin futures, 00:03:21.690 --> 00:03:23.190 align:middle line:84% you saw a same kind of price hike 00:03:23.190 --> 00:03:25.810 align:middle line:84% happen to Bitcoin in the days leading up to the launch. 00:03:25.810 --> 00:03:27.600 align:middle line:84% So we'll see what happens with Ether on Monday 00:03:27.600 --> 00:03:29.610 align:middle line:84% and we'll see if big institutions 00:03:29.610 --> 00:03:32.550 align:middle line:84% dump their Ethereum after CME launches the Futures. 00:03:32.550 --> 00:03:35.900 align:middle line:84% You hope not, or you will see big movement with price.