Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Tokens Surge 9% Amid Bitcoin's Outperformance

According to CoinDesk, popular meme tokens dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB) experienced a 9% increase in the past 24 hours, indicating that crypto traders are taking riskier bets due to bitcoin's (BTC) strong performance. Although there were no immediate catalysts for the price jump of SHIB and DOGE tokens, the surge occurred on Thursday after social media platform X, formerly Twitter, announced a video calling feature for premium users. This could be a sign of irrational exuberance, as some traders have historically expected X to add DOGE as a payment option. X CEO Elon Musk has frequently praised dogecoin as one of his favorite cryptocurrencies, even dedicating a segment to the meme coin during his appearance on the popular TV show “Saturday Night Live” in 2021.Cumulative trading volumes for the tokens increased to $1.2 billion on Thursday from $350 million on Monday, according to data. Additionally, open interest in DOGE and SHIB futures spiked over 50%, indicating larger bets placed by traders who expect more volatility in the coming days. Hopes of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) contributed to bitcoin prices rising approximately 30% over the past week before retreating, with ether (ETH), solana (SOL), and xrp (XRP) adding as much as 40%. DOGE and SHIB added just 15% in the same period. However, the tokens underperformed other major cryptocurrencies despite being generally more volatile. A run-up in both these tokens has historically marked a local top for bitcoin and other major tokens. Blockchain analytics firm Santiment reported in December that 'every time that the price of DOGE starts rising rapidly, there’s a market-wide crash following just moments later.' The firm noted in its report that eight instances of price spikes of dogecoin marked the local top for bitcoin and the crypto market in 2022.