Holders of Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) weren't laughing as the price of the cryptocurrency tumbled after Elon Musk called it a "hustle" on a US comedy show.
The comment by the Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) chief executive and crypto evangelist triggered a close to 30% crash in the Dogecoin price to a low of US47 cents.
It had been trading around US65 cents before the show, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Dogecoin's plunge is no laughing matter
Musk, who was impersonating a financial expert on a guest appearance of the highly-rated Saturday Night Live program, "struggled" to explain what Dogecoin is.
He was asked this question several times, and each time he replied with simple facts about Dogecoin without answering the question.
For instance, one of Musk's replies was: "It's the future of currency. It's an unstoppable financial vehicle that's going to take over the world".
The Dogecoin hustle is a difficult dance to master
Finally, when fellow cast member Michael Che asked if Dogecoin was a "hustle", Musk said, "Yeah, it's a hustle".
Here's another fun fact about the Dogecoin price. It has surged more than 800% over the last month and is now the fourth-largest digital currency.
Dogecoin's market capitalisation is US$73 billion and it hit a high above US73 cents on May 6, according to CoinGecko.com.
Musk is Dogecoin's biggest supporter
Musk contributed to its meteoric rise with his mostly favourable Tweets on Dogecoin, which started as a meme.
He's trying to make it mainstream by accepting Dogecoin payment for a trip to the moon aboard his SpaceX rocket.
Foolish takeaway
Arguably, many people understand what cryptos are and can do, but struggle to put a value on the numerous coin offerings in the market.
Dogecoin is just one of many examples and its fall comes at a time when the world's largest and best known crypto, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), is under pressure.
Talking about falling from grace, the Tesla share price has come into strife on its own recently.
The market wasn't impressed with its record March quarter results. While Tesla's earnings beat consensus expectations, the electric vehicle manufacturer made more money selling Bitcoin than it did cars.
