As 2021 begins to enter its median month, a degree of deja-vu has become evident as Dogecoin has once again surged in value just as it did in the early part of May this year.

Despite the very narrow band in which Bitcoin is currently trading, Dogecoin has risen in value by approximately 30% against the US Dollar, placing it under very interesting observation by enthusiasts who still need convincing that the meme-based digital asset has similar appeal to its until now more sought after peers Bitcoin and Ethereum.

We live in an age during which the price of cryptocurrencies has been majoring on its community-driven sentiment, and Dogecoin values have now reacted in a similar fashion to Bitcoin and Ethereum in that influencers with a high profile who have been able to drive demand via social media are able to do the same with Dogecoin as a lone asset rather than its values tracking the volatility of Ethereum and Bitcoin as they did in the massive Elon Musk-driven flash crash of two weeks ago.

Dogecoin has today broken the calm after the storm in which most cryptocurrencies have been resting at a steady value since a mild recovery was made from the unprecedented crash in which over $700 billion was wiped off the value of five cryptocurrencies two weeks ago, and it is perhaps no coincidence that Mr Musk is a fervent advocate of Dogecoin, self-styling himself as “The Dogefather” and having angled his disruptive tweets carefully, as well as his diatribe toward internet forum sparring partner Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum.

Compared to Dogecoin’s 30% hike in value, Ethereum, Cardano and Bitcoin Cash have collectively moved only 2% in the past 24 hours.

Mr Musk celebrated today by resharing a meme showing a ‘Dogecoin standard’ dust cloud enveloping the ‘global financial system’. “It’s inevitable” he said, alluding to the potential dominance that he views Dogecoin to have.

Of course, Mr Musk has proven that he is able to shape entire markets, therefore what he says and what he actually thinks may well be quite different. He has simply learned very quickly how to become an unofficial spokesman and advocate for a meme-based asset class, and then use his Twitter account to move the market, treating a digital and highly competitive virtual currency market like a video game with his hand on a joystick.

The Dogecoin advocacy brigade are now out in force, and its club-like following quite different in its method than the technology and highbrow development nature of Ethereum and Bitcoin.

As an example, American snack maker Slim Jim is getting involved in the current Dogecoin price rally, sharing a traffic sign with the words: “Rise Up Doge Army.”

With this particular cryptocurrency on the march again, there have been renewed calls across social media to push the price to $1.

The Doge Army has so far managed to buck market expectations throughout 2021, with a stratospheric price rise fuelled almost entirely by memes and rocket emojis.

If that is a differentiating factor, it is now more than ever that Dogecoin’s unusual methodology and equally unorthodox factors which drive its value are being looked at on their own merit rather than as an also-ran that follows the trends of the established tech-orientated leaders. In effect, no longer is Dogecoin playing second fiddle, it is simply playing a different fiddle.