Dogecoin is a crypto that derives its name from an internet meme called “doge.” The coin has come a long way since its inception in 2013. It briefly hit a market valuation of $88.1 billion in May 2021 after recording a substantial surge.
Who Created Dogecoin?
In 2013, there were a lot of altcoins popping up, so Adobe employee Jackson Palmer teased on his Twitter account that he would develop one based on a meme that featured a Shiba Inu dog. The crypto community welcomed the news, stating that a light-hearted coin was needed to counter the controversial tokens on offer at the time. So Palmer partnered with programmer Billy Markus to bring Dogecoin to life.
A brief History of Dogecoin
Dogecoin was created by Jackson Palmer in December 2013. In March 2014, the Dogecoin community raised over $50,000 to sponsor Josh Wise, a NASCAR driver. In June of that year, a Dogecoin Foundation was created to govern the coin’s code. In April of the following year, Plamer left Dogecoin.
In January 2018, Dogecoin’s market cap briefly hit $2 billion. Two and a half years later, A viral TikTok challenge caused Dogecoin’s price to surge by 96% in July 2020. In January 2021, Dogecoin’s market cap surged by $9 billion following a price rally triggered by the SatoshiStreetBets subreddit.
In May of that year, Dogecoin hit its peak price of $0.731 a few hours before Elon Musk appeared on Saturday Night Live. Later that month, Dogecoin developers disclosed that the Tesla founder has been advising the team since 2019. The following month, Dogecoin was listed on US leading exchange Coinbase. Finally, Elon Musk announced last November that he would partner with Vitalik Buterin to upgrade Dogecoin.
What’s So Special About Dogecoin?
Speed and Cost: Dogecoin provides fast transactions at a relatively low cost, thus fueling adoption.
Unlimited Supply: Initially, the total supply of Dogecoin was capped at a hundred billion tokens, but the limit was later removed to help keep the coin’s price relatively stable.
Community: Dogecoin is known to have one of the most active communities. In addition, the over 250,000 members of the r/Dogecoin subreddit are friendly and welcoming.
Philanthropy: The Dogecoin community is popular for rallying around good causes. It recently raised thousands to improve access to clean water for Kenyan residents. Moreover, the community raised $25,000 in 2014 to send a Jamaican bobsled team to the Olympics.
What Can You Do With Dogecoin Tokens?
Dogecoin is used as an online tipping system. For example, in case you like what a community member has posted on the Dogecoin Reddit, you can send them some Dogecoin tokens. This is why many consider the community to be friendly.
Other Meme Imitating Dogecoin
The success of Dogecoin has inspired the creation of more meme coins, including Baby Doge, Shiba Inu Coin, Akita Inu, Floki Inu, Dogelon Mars, Doge Cash, Baby Doge Cash, and SafeMoon.
The Future of Doge
While crypto enthusiasts consider meme coins funny, the regulators do not see the funny side. In 2020, crypto exchanges operating in Thailand were ordered by the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission to delist all meme coins, citing that they do not have a clear objective or underlying value. That being said, whether Dogecoin will stay around for long or disappear is open to debate.
But despite the uncertainty, the Dogecoin community continues to be active and loyal. And if Elon Musk, the new Twitter CEO, rolls out support for Dogecoin payments on the social media app, then the coin might stick around for a long time.
