If you’ve kept up with the crypto space at all in the last two years, you’ve definitely heard of Dogecoin (DOGE). The iconic Shiba Inu inspired cryptocurrency has gained a reputation as the leader of “memecoins”. However, it wasn’t always so well-known. Let’s take a look at the story of Dogecoin and its origins as the first memecoin!
The Invention of Dogecoin
Dogecoin was created in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. Markus and Palmer were inspired by the \”Doge\” internet meme, which featured a Shiba Inu dog breed, and decided to create a cryptocurrency with the Shiba Inu as its mascot. Markus and Palmer designed Dogecoin to be a fun, lighthearted alternative to other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. They intended Dogecoin to be used for small online transactions, such as tipping content creators on social media or making donations to charitable causes.
How Does Dogecoin Work?
Dogecoin is based on the same technology as Bitcoin and Litecoin. This technology allows Dogecoin to be securely transferred between users without the need for a central authority or intermediary. Transactions are recorded on a public ledger called a blockchain, which allows anyone to view and verify the transactions. It’s also important to note that dogecoin’s supply is unlimited, meaning that there is no limit to the number of coins that can be added to the network. This is different from Bitcoin, which has a limited number of total coins (21 million). People call Dogecoin an inflationary currency since its supply is unlimited, similar to the US Dollar.
Dogecoin mining is also very similar to Bitcoin mining. Dogecoin mining involves using specialized computer hardware to solve complex mathematical problems and process transactions. When a Dogecoin transaction is initiated, it is broadcast to the Dogecoin network, where it is verified by network nodes. These nodes, also known as miners, use their computers to verify the transaction and add it to the Dogecoin blockchain. Miners are rewarded for their efforts with a certain number of Dogecoin. This is known as the mining reward, and it is designed to incentivize miners to continue to contribute their computational power to the Dogecoin network.
Elon Musk, the Savior of Dogecoin
Dogecoin wasn’t always a popular name in crypto like it is now. Back in 2017 it enjoyed a short bull run, rising from $0.0002 to $0.0175. However, its rise was temporary and was back to $0.0002 by April of 2018. The price of Dogecoin did not see any major movement until 2021, when Billionaire CEO Elon Musk stepped on the crypto scene.
Musk first tweeted about Dogecoin in 2019, but it never gained much attention until 2021 when Musk started publicly supporting it. He tweeted the word “Doge” in December of 2020, and again in February of 2021. Each time Musk tweeted, the price of Dogecoin jumped anywhere from 18 to 40 percent! This culminated in a massive bull run for Dogecoin when Musk appeared on Saturday Night Live on May 8th, 2021. The cryptocurrency hit an all-time-high of $0.73 on that night and would proceed to drop in price from that point forward, except for a few spikes in August and November of 2021.
Musk has been an open supporter of Dogecoin ever since, and has said that he’s worked with Dogecoin developers to increase system efficiency for processing transactions. Once Musk acquired Twitter in October of 2022, people thought that it was possible that Dogecoin was going to become the primary currency of the platform, but that has yet to be revealed. Dogecoin and Elon Musk are almost inseparable topics, and it will be interesting to see if Dogecoin gets its chance in the spotlight once again with Twitter.
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