The frenzy of Reddit-fueled stocks is reaching some of the weirder parts of the cryptocurrency world.

Dogecoin, a digital coin started as a joke, soared as much as 77 per cent since 11:04 a.m. Hong Kong time, according to data from cryptocurrency tracker CoinGecko. Over the past 24 hours, it’s up 42 per cent to $0.01129497.

Users on the Reddit thread SatoshiStreetBets touted the gains with posts like, “Up 25 per cent this last hour. First dog on the moon” and “NEED $1 Doge.” Another one said “Doge = the crypto gme,” referring to GameStop Corp., the stock that’s surged some 400 per cent this week as retail traders squeezed short sellers.

Extreme volatility is entirely normal in the crypto space, where hundreds of coins compete for attention with gimmicky names, far-fetched blockchain ideas and campaigns on social media. Last year, a TikTok trend encouraged users to invest in Dogecoin with the idea that there’s serious money to be made if the price hit US$1, prompting a price surge of more than 40 per cent in 24 hours.

Dogecoin’s market capitalization sits about US$1.4 billion, the 33rd-highest among cryptocurrencies, according to CoinGecko data.