What is Dogecoin (DOGE)?

Dogecoin was launched at the end of 2013 by two Americans, Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. Their aim was to create a cryptocurrency that could compete with other coins in terms of decentralization, user-friendliness, and transaction speed.

They also wanted the coin to be fun and lighthearted. For many, Dogecoin started as a joke that went viral, with the Shiba Inu, a Japanese dog breed, at its center. This Shiba Inu had already gained fame as the star of many popular memes.

While Dogecoin quickly gained global recognition thanks to its many fans on Reddit, it’s undeniable that a well-thought-out marketing strategy was behind its rise. If you visit the homepage of Dogecoin.com, you’ll see a textbook example of how to create a perfect onboarding experience for a cryptocurrency. With just two videos and three steps, you learn the basics and even get some free Dogecoin to start with. The website continually emphasizes the community and how they will guide new users, which is quite true—the Dogecoin community on Reddit now boasts over 1.1 million members!

Key Features of Dogecoin

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency similar to Litecoin (LTC), which in turn is comparable to Bitcoin (BTC). It uses a proof-of-work consensus algorithm, where miners verify and secure the Dogecoin network. Like Litecoin, Dogecoin utilizes the scrypt technology as its proof-of-work algorithm, which is less complex and allows for faster transaction confirmations. This means it requires less computing power and, consequently, less electricity. The Dogecoin blockchain has a block time of 1 minute, and the miner who verifies a block first receives a reward of 10,000 Dogecoin.

When Dogecoin was first launched, a few things were different from how they are now. Initially, there was a maximum supply of 100 billion coins. Until March 2014, the mining reward was not fixed but a random amount. Later, it was set to 10,000 per block, or per minute. As a result, by mid-2015, the 100 billionth Dogecoin had been mined. It was then decided that an additional 5 billion coins would be added to circulation every year. Currently, there is no maximum limit on the total number of Dogecoins.

Who Uses Dogecoin and Where?

Since its inception, Dogecoin has been widely used as a form of payment and generously shared. One of the most common uses today is for tipping. Reddit and Twitter users often tip Dogecoin to others as a reward for sharing or simply for content they appreciate. The Dogecoin community has also made headlines several times through its fundraising efforts. For instance, they raised $50,000 to send the Jamaican bobsled team to the Sochi Winter Olympics and collected $30,000 to provide a water well in a Kenyan village.

In recent years, Dogecoin has repeatedly been thrust back into the spotlight, largely due to the attention it has received from Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. Whether he did this intentionally or not is something we may never know. However, what we do know is that in January 2021, the value of Dogecoin surged by 800% in just one day.