Add3, Content
August 7, 2023
8.4 min reading
Dogecoin has been making waves almost since the day it was created. Even the founders of DOGE were surprised by how popular it became. But what exactly are Dogecoins?
They started as a joke, inspired by the famous “doge” meme. You know the one – a mischievous-looking Shiba Inu dog with multi-color Comic Sans text. However, things quickly got serious for the new digital currency when influential figures like Elon Musk and Snoop Dogg jumped on the bandwagon.
In this Add3 blog, we’ll explain where Dogecoin came from, why it became so popular, and what the future may hold.
The king of all meme coins started as an amusing joke by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. Billy, an IBM software engineer, and Jackson, an Adobe software engineer, had never met. But their collaboration would soon make big waves in crypto culture.
The two Dogecoin founders wanted to jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon in an ironic and irreverent way. So they co-opted the ubiquitous “doge” meme for a new crypto token. This was in the early days of Bitcoin and Ethereum back in 2013.
It was the height of Shiba Inu memes – a dog with silly thought bubbles written in Comic Sans font. So when Dogecoin, the first “meme coin,” debuted, no one could have predicted how popular it would become.
Within a month of its launch, dogecoin.com attracted an astonishing one million visitors. First, people were entertained beyond belief by this cheeky digital currency that embraced the irreverence of a doge meme. Then, people started tipping each other with Dogecoins to show appreciation for good deeds or to spread joy.
The fact that Dogecoin was a meme with little utility spurred its popularity.
The Dogecoin community quickly took on the ethos of crypto culture, driven by having fun and making jokes. One of the unique aspects of the Dogecoin community is its tipping culture.
In the early stages, people would tip each other with Dogecoins to show appreciation. It became a virtual currency of gratitude, where good deeds were rewarded with a sprinkle of Dogecoins. It was a way for the community to come together and spread positivity in a fun and light-hearted way.
Dogecoin is different in technology and utility from other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Firstly, the barrier of entry is much lower for Dogecoin. It’s more accessible for users intimidated by the complexities of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Dogecoin welcomes everyone, making it easier for newcomers to join in and lowering the crypto stakes.
It also broke a severe tone that was starting to build up around Bitcoin. But one criticism of Dogecoin is that it does not have a supply cap like some other cryptocurrencies. Unlike Bitcoin, which has a limited supply of 21 million coins, Dogecoin can be minted infinitely. This means its price will likely never be very high compared to Bitcoin because it’s so inflationary.
Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and meme enthusiast, couldn’t resist the charm of Dogecoin. He started tweeting about it, bringing even more attention to an already buzzing crypto token. His tweets catalyzed rapid price fluctuations, causing the Dogecoin market to jump dramatically.
Elon became such a Doge shill that he started accepting DOGE at Tesla. He even made the Doge meme the homepage logo on Twitter for a short period after he bought the social media platform in 2022.
But Elon isn’t the only celebrity who loves a good meme coin. Snoop Dogg, the legendary rapper, also hopped on the Dogecoin train. He showed his love for Doge by posting some iconic pictures and tweets. With these influential figures backing Dogecoin, it surged in price and trading volume.
The whole crypto-sphere was shocked when, at one point, DOGE surpassed Bitcoin in trading volume. It was a moment that left many people cursing meme coins and others laughing hysterically.
It wasn’t all fun and games, though. After Doge became “legitimate” in the eyes of many crypto investors, co-founder Jackson Palmer decided to abandon the project. He decided that the cryptocurrency environment was becoming too degenerate and toxic.
Dogecoin experienced a remarkable rally in 2021 during the top of the bull market. And it got caught up in the WallStreetBets subreddit phenomenon. This online community, known for its involvement in the GameStop stock frenzy, boosted Dogecoin’s popularity. Redditors on WallStreetBets saw potential in Dogecoin and joined forces to fuel its rise.
The community wanted to send Dogecoin “to the moon!” This is a common catchphrase during crypto and Web3 bull markets, and the Doge community tried to make it happen. At its all-time high in 2021, Doge reached $0.73.
TikTok also spurred a viral trend where users encouraged each other to invest in Dogecoin. In addition, they wanted to push Doge to a price of $1 per coin. These types of viral efforts are part of what caused Jackson Palmer to abandon the project.
Because Doge does not have a supply cap, it’s nearly impossible to reach $1. Many people argue this is the negative side of meme coins like Doge. Young, enthusiastic, uninformed investors ape into meme coins hoping to gain significant returns. But most of the time, they take extreme risks unknowingly.
As of May 2023, the price of Doge is $0.07. It has been down with the rest of the market since entering the bear cycle at the beginning of 2022, according to CoinMarketCap.
Dogecoin in 2023 was the #8 cryptocurrency by market cap at $9,802,192,372, and nearly 140 billion Dogecoins were in circulation.
Although Elon Musk continued his enthusiasm for Doge, he became more careful about endorsing it publicly. “I’m not advising anyone to buy crypto or bet the farm on Dogecoin, for example. Don’t bet the farm on Dogecoin!” he said. “Maybe you should. But let me advise you that would be, perhaps, unwise.”
Dogecoin is the grandfather of all meme coins and has been around for ages. Its future looks bright as a cultural phenomenon. And with continued support from influencers like Elon, it will likely remain a household name. But if you’re looking for a 100x return and prices to the moon, don’t expect to see them from the infamous Dogecoin.
