Mark Cuban tried to convince Ellen DeGeneres to accept Dogecoin

Following the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to accept Dogecoin as payment for merchandise last month, billionaire Mark Cuban is seemingly attempting to get other high-profile names to consider using the meme-based token as a form of payment.

In a virtual interview with TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres today, Cuban said Dogecoin (DOGE) may have started as a joke, but it was now “becoming a digital currency.” The Dallas Mavericks owner mentioned the success the basketball team’s store had after accepting the token in March, and recommended DeGeneres “should look at it for The Ellen Shop,” claiming the store “could sell a whole lot of stuff for Dogecoin.”

“We sure will do that,” said DeGeneres. “I’m interested in Dogecoin, and I really want to know more about this.”

In regards to crypto and DOGE in particular, the TV talk show host later clarified on Twitter that she was not sure she “understand[s] it, or know[s] how to pronounce it, but it sure is fun to say.” DeGeneres already launched her own nonfungible token called “woman with a stick cat” to raise money for the World Central Kitchen, one package of which sold for $14,555 today.

Cuban has predicted that the price of DOGE could hit $1 if more people were to use the token to purchase Dallas Mavericks merchandise. As of April 13, the basketball team has reportedly accepted 122,000 DOGE — roughly $32,757 at the time of publication — with sales increasing by 550% over the last month.

“I wouldn’t say [DOGE is] the world’s best investment, but it’s whole lot better than a lottery ticket,” said Cuban on Ellen’s show. “It’s a great way to learn and start understanding cryptocurrencies.”

Though Dogecoin has posted more than 14,000% in gains over a year, the price of the token has fallen under $0.30 since reaching an all-time high of more than $0.40 earlier this month. The viewership of Ellen’s show — estimated to be 1.5 million as of March — could potentially drive this price up if even a fraction of them showed the same enthusiasm in the token as Cuban seemed to demonstrate by purchasing DOGE.