Coinbase Is Giving Away $1.2 Million in Dogecoin

Coinbase added Dogecoin to its exchange on Thursday and, to gin up publicity for the event, declared the company would begin giving away $1.2 million worth of the novelty token to customers in the coming months.

"Dogecoin is now on Coinbase, and we’re giving away $1.2 million in prizes to celebrate," said the company.

The news was relayed in a tweet with a link to further details that explained would-be winners must buy or sell $100 in DOGE by June 10th to be eligible to win. The prizes will consist of $300,000 award, plus 10 smaller awards of $30,000 and 6000 of $100.

The giveaway is likely to please fans of the Shiba Inu-themed currency, who have long clamored for the exchange to add Dogecoin—in part to reap the so-called "Coinbase effect," which describes the price pump that has occurred when it has added other coins.

So far, however, the Coinbase listing has failed to lift the token with the price of Dogecoin actually falling around 6% on Thursday:

Dogecoin's price movements are similar to what occurred prior to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's much-hyped Saturday Night Live appearance last month, which saw the price fall significantly after a frantic build-up—a phenomenon that has led some crypto pundits to opine "buy the rumor, sell the news."

Coinbase's Dogecoin giveaway follows a similar promotion earlier this year when it announced a sweepstakes to giveaway $500,000 worth of Bitcoin to mark its listing as a public company.

The Coinbase listing and sweepstakes marks another high water mark for Dogecoin, which launched as a meme-fueled joke in 2013 but has gained mainstream attention in recent months thanks to legions of Robinhood buyers and celebrity endorsements from the likes of Musk.

This story was updated to include the specific deadline for entering the contest.