Mark Cuban Says People Prefer Dogecoin Over Bitcoin When Buying Dallas Mavericks Merchandise

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has yet again pitched Dogecoin as the preferred cryptocurrency against its more powerful rivals like Bitcoin. He has said that people like to spend Dogecoin for the purchase of goods and services because it does appreciate so much at frequent intervals. For instance, Bitcoin just moved past the $50,000 (Rs. 37 lakhs) mark, gaining more than $10,000 (Rs 7.47 lakhs) in a week. Cuban, who owns Dallas Mavericks, also said that the NBA team sells “thousands and thousands of dollars” of merchandise per month in the off-season. He said he expects the number to go “much higher” as the season starts.

Talking to Fox Business, Cuban has now said people use Dogecoin to buy Mavericks merchandise “really because it's easy to spend and it doesn't appreciate so much that people would want to hoard it forever”.

The basketball team was among the first to accept payments in Dogecoin for its merchandise, and Cuban in April said that the move increased in Doge payments by 550 percent just after the first month. In late August, he announced a rewards programme for Mavericks buyers to further promote Dogecoin.

Asked about his low Dogecoin holdings, previously revealed as worth only $500 (Rs. 37,365), Cuban said he now has Dogecoin worth $1,500 (Rs. 1.12 lakhs) because he bought a little more “for fun”. Trying to distance himself from any responsibility if people lose money, he added that he has not told anybody that Dogecoin is a great investment. 

“I've often said that it's a great way to get to understand how cryptocurrency works…and it's a better investment than a lottery ticket if you're trying to hit a home run,” he added.

Launched in December 2013 as a joke, Dogecoin is based on the popular "doge" meme and features a Shiba Inu on its logo. Dogecoin price in India was around Rs. 17.94 (roughly $0.24) at the time of writing this report, after losing more than 8 percent in the past 24 hours.