(CNN) – What do you get when you combine lower interest rates and a viral baby pygmy hippo? A Moo Deng cryptocurrency.
Given the sudden popularity of Moo Deng, the Thai national treasure whose name translates to “bouncing pig,” it was only a matter of time before someone turned it into a digital asset. And given the nature of these meme-cryptocurrencies, which have no underlying value and are traded solely based on popularity or virality on networks, it is not surprising that Moo Deng Coin has risen 1,400% since it was created less than three weeks ago.
To be clear: This is as valuable an asset as Beanie Babies were in the 1990s, although at least back then you could hold a Beanie Baby in your hands.
Meme-cryptocurrencies or memecoins, as cute as they are, are not a smart financial move, even if a trader appears to have turned an $800 purchase into $3.5 million. (It should be noted that cryptocurrency traders suspect this anonymous Moo Deng promoter to be an “insider,” as he bought the coin four hours after its creation, according to cryptocurrency news site Decrypt. And once that person sells your participation, the currency will become as useless on paper as it is in reality).
Moo Deng Coin is just the latest product of a niche online culture that also gave rise to Dogecoin (created as a joke to mock bitcoin) and Shiba Inu Coin (a joke to mock Dogecoin). Like any fun internet sensation, memecoins tend to have a short lifespan: they rise as their novelty inspires cryptocurrency traders who don’t want to be left out, and they crash soon after as early investors take their profits and leave.
Obviously, Moo Deng’s cuteness is the driving force behind the new coin, which rose 90% in 24 hours this Friday, trading at about US$0.25 per coin.
But the Fed’s supersized rate cut last week, and signs of more cuts to come, are also driving a surge in cryptocurrencies in general, from Moo Dengs to the more conventional bitcoin and ethereum, as a monetary policy More flexible tends to benefit high-risk assets like cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency token, is up around 14% in the last week.
