If you’re new to the crypto world and caught the DOGE craze, calm down, and read this first!
Dogecoin, much like its meme counterpart, gained worldwide recognition as it recently hit a record-breaking surge of 9,400% since January. This was partly attributed to celebrities—most especially Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk—building credibility and boosting its popularity.
At present, a single Dogecoin is priced at $0.510123 with a market cap of $66.05B and an $8.75B volume currently in circulation. Compared to its previous value at $0.0005, it seems like this joker just became the new kingpin.
This hype has triggered some economists to issue warning signs as people scramble to join the fray and gamble their way up.
Before investing, read this Dogecoin 101 and decide for yourself if it is worth the risk.
The Technology
Dogecoin (dohj coin), is a cryptocurrency or an altcoin much like Bitcoin and Ether. To further clarify, it is fork a of the open-source lucky coin blockchain which was a fork of lite coin that can be traced back to bitcoin.
Blockchain technology is what backs these cryptocurrencies. In a nutshell, this technology ensures security as it stores transaction records aka “block” in several databases aka “chain” connected through a peer-to-peer network making a ‘digital ledger’.
Unlike bitcoin with its limited stock, Dogecoin was modified to be unlimited. This became a factor to the others as it may decrease in value over time.
This uses C++ scrypt mining algorithm which lowered the hash rates and the energy consumed. Making it easier to mine and use.
As new Dogecoin enters the pot, investors will constantly see the numbers changing. And with it so easy to mine there’s always new Dogecoin entering the pile.
Markus said that the development of Dogecoin only took him 3 hours adding to the comedy of it all. This resulted in a less secure community and suffered an attack in 2013, days after launching.
But why was it called a meme coin?
The Origin
If you haven’t noticed it yet the Shiba Inu dog, aka Shibe, that is front and center in the logo was a meme sensation back then. The Doge meme was famous for its internal monologues that surround Shibe which was written in Comic Sans.
This became a propeller for Jackson Palmer’s satirical take on cryptocurrency back in 2013. The Adobe software engineer photoshopped Shibe with a coin and jokingly tweeted—”Investing in Dogecoin, pretty sure it’s the next best thing”.
Little did he know that it would be the next best thing. After gaining attention on Reddit, Dogecoin.com became a hot commodity.
At this point, Billy Markus, a software engineer at IBM, tried and failed to develop his cryptocurrency named Bells. Disheartened by this, he supposedly gave up and retired from the industry.
It didn’t last long though as he was immediately captured by Palmer’s idea and offered to help build Dogecoin. Unfortunately, Palmer did not share his enthusiasm and did not reply.
Nonetheless, Markus took initiative and started building it right away. Admittedly, he shared that he found bitcoin’s source code incomprehensible but knew enough to be able to reconfigure it. He modified it to fit the doge image and even went as far as exchanging the term ‘mine’ to ‘dig’.
Finally, Palmer responded and the two officially launched Dogecoin on December 6, 2013. With it first written as a joke, neither has expected it to jump 300% in just two weeks.
After a year, its market capitalization burgeoned to $20M with a loyal fanbase on Reddit forums. They donated to a lot of causes along with the $11,000 that they gave in Kenya to build a well.
It was used mainly as a ‘tipping gesture’ and formed its own culture. However, as the crypto-verse became serious it also became toxic to Palmer which led him to quit the company.
Its roller coaster ride came to an end along with the rest of the cryptocurrency in 2018. But it came back with a vengeance this year.
The Boost
Never has a name held so much power as it did in this situation. Being one of the world’s richest men has its perks.
After Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, dubbed himself as the “Dogefather” on Twitter, DOGE immediately spiked. Add this to his tweet about partnering with Dogecoin, and you’ve got a social media sensation that paralleled in the crypto-verse.
Another multi-billionaire, Mark Cuban, backed this venture and promoted it himself joining in the buzz. Cuban also bought his son some Dogecoin as a fun way to teach him cryptocurrency and economics.
Snoop Dogg and Kiss’ Gene Simmons joined the bandwagon and also purchased Dogecoin. All these became Dogecoin’s platform to surge even more.
Riding in the buzz, brokerages have also opened their arms to DOGE. Gemini, a famous cryptocurrency exchange platform recently accepted Dogecoin to its repertoire.
Some trading platforms like eToro and Webull couldn’t help but open their doors to this meme-coin. And according to recent news, Coinbase is also gearing up to join in the craze.
Compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, Dogecoin’s affordability swayed the mass even more. The rally was also backed up by subreddit Doge fans to make the price touch $1.
At the time of writing, the price decreased by 9.36% over the past 24 hours on Coindesk.com valuing it at $0.492470. Thus, proving the volatility of cryptocurrency.
The Red Flags
Amidst the waves, always remember that Dogecoin is just like any other cryptocurrency—it fluctuates. So, while investing in it may be fun, betting everything on it may not be in your best interest.
Here are some points to ponder before investing in Dogecoin.
- Scammers – Along with every frenzy, a shark will always come out to play. After Elon Musk’s Saturday Night Live appearance, scams have started to rip off some hopeful investors, promising to multiply their money. These faux operations that promised to multiply their Dogecoins earning gained at least $97,054.62. Both Dogecoin and Elon Musk issued their statement saying that if it’s too good to be true, then it’s probably a lie. They reiterated that while investing in crypto is fine, spending your life savings on it is a no-no. If you have made your decision to invest, be careful of who you do your business with.
- The Elon Hype – Every time Elon Musk tweeted about Dogecoin, it always stirs the pot. For this reason, many have speculated that when the “Elon-hype” has died down, so will its value. Some lucky investors have ridden the wave and experienced real returns. Turning their initial $1,000 to possibly $1,000,000. However, this may not be the case for you if the Elon-hype proves to be true, and Dogecoin will revert as a joke token. Some investors have referred to it as a bubble that’s going to burst any time soon.
- Trading Platforms – While many have followed SpaceX footsteps and opened their operations to Dogecoin. There are still few businesses that use it. International Business Times listed 48 companies that took Dogecoin as payment and according to Cryptwerk 1,3000 businesses now accept Dogecoin as payment or tips. Considering that the US has approximately 32 million businesses and there are 528 million entrepreneurs worldwide, those figures fall pale in comparison. In general, Dogecoin has no virtual real-world use. For a newbie, it is also important to consider the unlimited supply that Dogecoin offers. As new tokens get minted the value diminishes.
The Purchase
Have you made your decision already? If so, just follow these steps and you’re all ready to join in the fun.
- Get a cryptocurrency wallet. Crypto wallets, just like any wallet, stores your coins. This is what you will use to go into exchange platforms and start rolling. To set up your Dogecoin wallet just watch this tutorial. After setting up your wallet remember to locate your wallet’s address because that’s what you will use to send Dogecoin in it.
- Go to cryptocurrency platforms. This is where you can buy your tokens. You can go to Coinbase, Robinhood, and Kraken for this purpose. Check out this link for a full tutorial.
- Get free Dogecoins. Some websites now give off free Dogecoin in exchange for a little service. You can get free Dogecoins every 3 hours or so just by clicking a button and completing captcha codes.
- Mining Dogecoins. A more advanced way to earn more Dogecoin is to ‘dig’ in. Although for a beginner this method may be too hard. But if you’re curious just click this link for an overview.
The Verdict
Investing in Dogecoin is okay as long as you have spare cash that you don’t mind losing. The crypto world is a volatile market after all.
It could make you rich or make you broke. The risk is too high especially investing it on an inflationary altcoin like Dogecoin.
It’s best to let it sit and wait for the perfect moment to cash out. Experts say that Dogecoin has a bright future ahead.
Coin Price Forecast has predicted that by 2030, it will rise to $1. If Dogecoin’s momentum continues, earning real money could no longer be a pipe dream.