This Is Why the Meme Currency Dogecoin Is Worth so Much

Find out what turned a meme coin into one of the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies in 2022. Here’s what the Shiba Inu (and Musk) did for the value.

Dogecoin, Monedas, Criptomoneda, Cripto, Divisa, Dinero

Image Source: Pixabay

Today we will talk about one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world, Dogecoin (DOGE-X). What is it and how can you invest in this coin? Last year, Dogecoin increased its value by 1,500% out of the bloom, and as of today, it is within the 10 largest cryptocurrencies worldwide.

But the world is asking much simpler questions: What is Dogecoin? Why does it have the image of a Shiba Inu? Why do they call it a joke or meme currency? To answer all these questions, we have decided to talk in-depth about both the characteristics of Dogecoin, as well as why it is so incredibly popular in 2022.

 

What is Dogecoin?

The cryptocurrency Dogecoin was released in December 2013 by programmers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus. They planned to create a cryptocurrency that would be enjoyed by a large number of people. Moreover, the creators wanted to distance themselves from Bitcoin. Dogecoin was a meme cryptocurrency, yet it has repeatedly supported fundraising for charity.

Dogecoin was founded with the original idea of reaching a wider audience, especially younger customers, with its positive message. The name and logo refer to the popular Doge meme featuring a Shiba dog whose terrified photos went viral in 2013, usually accompanied by funny phrases in Comic Sans. The Doge network operates on the Proof of Work consensus algorithm, without having a limited maximum number.

Dogecoin today occupies a prestigious position in the cryptocurrency landscape, with truly remarkable figures both in terms of capitalization and exchange: it is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency, i.e. founded on a network in which each connected subject acts as client and server. 

In simpler terms, we can say that Dogecoin is a digital currency generated by a computer through the process known as extraction or mining, which allows it to be traded without a central authority.

 

Dogecoin: The Joke Currency

Dogecoin was not really taken seriously as a means of payment or store of value. People might buy a few Dogecoins on the side to give to friends as a gag. In 2014, the Dogecoin community even sponsored the Jamaican bobsled team and decorated a Nascar race car with Doge, which of course was in keeping with the joke nature of the currency. After that, things went quiet around Dogecoin. Until Elon Musk stepped in.

Because Mr. Musk, Tesla’s and SpaceX’s CEO, and currently the richest person in the world, also has a side job as a Twitter troll. He is particularly fond of cryptic sayings about the world of finance and the stock market. This has already earned him millions in fines from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but that doesn't seem to bother Musk much.

 

How to Invest in Dogecoin?

Many wonder what the future of this cryptocurrency will be in the short or long term. For example, Investors on Reddit forums are betting on a steady rally: most active users expect Dogecoin to reach $1 in the coming months.
 

As a Doge investor, you have to choose between two strategies:

  • Trade Dogecoin: You can trade it online, which allows you not to actually buy the cryptocurrency, but to profit from it only in case of a price rise or collapse. As with a trading bot for Kucoin, you can also automatize your Dogecoin tradings with secure and trustworthy crypto bots.
  • Buying Dogecoin: You can buy and hold the cryptocurrency for the long term, hoping that it will grow.


How Does Dogecoin Work?

Dogecoin is without a doubt a very reputable platform with a lot of advanced technology. It is a cryptocurrency based on the source code of Luckycoin, a modified version of Litecoin. 

Dogecoin uses Scrypt, an algorithm that has been described as revolutionary since its use. This algorithm also helps achieve higher speeds and is generally more accessible to inexperienced miners. Dogecoin is a favorite of those who create content on platforms like Reddit and YouTube.

This cryptocurrency has a shorter block time than Bitcoin. More specifically, the blocks on the Dogecoin blockchain are closed every minute. This means that it is capable of closing more than nine times the number of blocks that Bitcoin can execute per minute. 

As with any other cryptocurrency, an electronic wallet is required. The function of the wallet is to store the various cryptocurrencies you own. It can be found in the form of various programs on the official website.

It works with virtually all operating systems: on iOS, on Android, and even on desktop computers. It is enough with a simple installation of the electronic purse. You need to register with the chosen exchange, connect a credit card or other accepted means of payment to an account and e-wallet, where you store Dogecoins. 

Then you simply enter the amount you want to buy and convert the dollars into digital currency, which is automatically transferred to your wallet.

 

Why Did Dogecoin Become so Popular?

It is always hard to say how and why a cryptocurrency gains or loses value and becomes popular or not. However, at the end of January 2021, there were factors that influenced Dogecoins' rise in value. 

First, the Reddit community, which went to war with the investment funds that decided to wipe out the GameStop network of game stores, asked: if it was possible to increase the value of GameStop, why not increase the value of Dogecoin?

At its peak, it reached 1,500% of its value. But that's not all, Elon Musk, started publishing strange posts on Twitter, which in a way were meant to promote Dogecoin. Musk started writing about cryptocurrency in his Twitter style without much context. Obviously, his posts triggered a frenzy.

These tweets made Dogecoin a trending topic on Twitter. So, it's not wrong to say that part of the credit, in this case, belongs to Elon Musk and his tweets.

 

Similarities to the GameStop Hype

The GameStop hype was in fact so strong, that it propelled Dogecoin into financial success. For more than a week, Musk tweeted almost daily on the topic. This attention let the Dogecoin price increase more than tenfold– thus reaching that incredible 1,500% mark. 

While one Dogecoin was still worth around 0,7 USD at the end of January, it now costs more than 0,15 USD. Its market capitalization exceeded the 10 billion dollar mark.

As with GameStop, there are now of course people who actually want to profit from the hype and invest considerable amounts of real money in Dogecoin. Their hope is probably also that Musk would invest some of his nearly $200 billion fortunes in Dogecoin, though there is no indication that he has actually done so. And so Dogecoin is currently above all a symbol of a financial world gone completely mad.

 

Advantages of Using Dogecoin

Dogecoin is based on a technological infrastructure that is essentially similar to that of Bitcoin but with important differences that represent a major advance on a technological level. 

One important advantage is that the transaction verification protocol takes only one minute to verify a transaction and add it to the blockchain. It is certainly not the shortest possible time, but it is much better than what Bitcoin or Litecoin allow.

It is one of the most traded cryptocurrencies in history. We are not talking about speculative movements here, which most analysts estimate account for more than 90% of transactions; in this case, we are referring to all people who actually use Dogecoin to send and receive money in exchange for goods or services. 

It must be said that in the long run, the popularity of a cryptocurrency in the real economy will really make the difference.

 

Conclusion

Was the world ready for cryptocurrencies, and on top of that one that only consisted of being an internet joke? Well, although the odds were low, the truth is that today we are talking about a virtual currency worth 0.15 USD.

Not only that, but every 24 hours, Dogecoin has a trading volume of over $500,000,000. So, that little joke from 2013 has come a long way - and it doesn't look like it's going away any time soon.

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