Mark Cuban backs dogecoin, cites its potential to become 'digital currency'

Mark Cuban is putting his 'meme' where his mouth is. Since accepting dogecoin as a payment method for Dallas Maverick's merch in March, the team has seen over 20,000 transactions, purportedly making them the "largest Dogecoin merchants in the world!"

Now Cuban is doubling down, announcing Thursday that holders of the 'joke' currency will be given 'special pricing' for the team's summer sale.

In an interview on "CNBC Make It," Cuban touted dogecoin's "unique use" relative to other cryptocurrencies available on the market: "it's a medium that can be used for the acquisition of goods and services. The community for doge[coin] is the strongest when it comes to using it as a medium of exchange."

Cuban has been bullish on dogecoin for a while now, telling Ellen DeGeneres - while describing it in context with other cryptocurrencies- "and then you' got dogecoin, which is just fun. But the weird part about it- it went from being a cryptocurrency joke to now becoming something that's becoming a digital currency."

Indeed, limitations on the usages of cryptocurrencies are being challenged. Cuban told DeGeneres that he views a large market cap. coins like bitcoin more as a "digital version of gold" because its holders view it as an asset that will appreciate in value over time. But Cuban sees potential in dogecoin to become a digital currency.

There may be some reason for optimism. In June, El Salvador became the first nation to adopt cryptocurrency as legal tender allowing citizens to make transactions with bitcoin legally. It remains to be seen if other countries will follow their lead.  That said, dogecoin also has its risks, being less secure and relatively undeveloped compared to bitcoin.

This is why in the past, Cuban has also admitted that dogecoin isn't a good investment, despite his bullish outlook on its potential as a currency.