Memes have been a part of internet culture for quite a long time now. Honestly, we can’t blame them. They’re funny, clever and trendy. Their tendency to go viral is such that they have expanded to other media like television and graphic. Now, they are taking over the crypto world led by the master memecoin, Dogecoin (DOGE).
Dogecoin origins: The joke that became true
How on Earth can a meme become a cryptocurrency whose crypto market capitalization literally worth more than 60 billion dollars? The answer is simple: As a joke.
It sounds crazy, and it is. But it’s also true. Back in 2013, there was a particular period of extreme hype around cryptocurrency. In that context, a man sceptical about crypto named Jackson Palmer tweeted that he would start a new cryptocurrency project called Dogecoin. Of course, he was joking, but the overwhelmingly positive feedback he received led him to buy the dogecoin.com domain.
During that time, a software developer in Oregon named Billy Markus was playing around with cryptocurrency. He had always wanted to create his own crypto, and as soon as he heard about DOGE, he got in touch with Palmer. Markus built the Dogecoin blockchain from Litecoin’s, which is why they have very similar characteristics.
Rise of the Doge: Dogecoin Fundamentals vs Community
As we know, cryptocurrencies are very volatile. DOGE is not the exception. Its price moves according to supply and demand, just like any other coin. However, founders never intended Dogecoin to be an investment option rather than some sort of community badge. In fact, Dogecoin had no capped maximum supply (it still doesn’t) nor utility.
That said, the first Dogecoin buyers were not looking to make money out of it rather than to play along with the joke. Community support was what drove growth to DOGE and brought more people on board.
The Dogecoin community quickly became one of the most active and loyal in the crypto space, which led to unforgettable events. The donation of $30,000 to fund the Jamaican sledge team trip to the 2014 Winter Olympics was one of them.
Sadly, opportunists quickly got into DOGE with the idea to make a profit from it. At the same time, the cryptocurrency environment became more serious, and all that childish, innocent joy that surrounded Dogecoin began to fade.
Musk to the rescue, DOGE to the moon
As we said, the community was the one thing driving Dogecoin onwards. When it dissolved, the coin was practically forgotten. It wasn’t until early 2021 that the excentric millionaire Elon Musk, famous for being disruptive with the traditional successful businessman stereotype, brought DOGE back from the grave.
In fact, Musk had repeatedly tweeted that DOGE was his favourite crypto. However, the tipping point was in February 2021, when Dogecoin was under $0,01. Then, Tesla’s CEO started actively supporting DOGE, calling it “the people’s crypto“. His involvement didn’t go innoticed, as he earned the name of “Dogefather”.
Musk’s shill was remarkably effective. The price surged to $0.05 in less than a day. Immediately, what made Dogecoin’s community famous in the past started to show again. People started raging on Reddit and Twitter, calling to bring “DOGE to $1” and aping into the coin without thinking twice.
What’s more, far from backing up, Elon doubled down. He kept tweeting about DOGE and went on Saturday Night Live, talking about it in a sketch in which he portrayed a financial advisor. He even got SpaceX, a company he started, to accept DOGE as payment for its next lunar mission. By the way, they named it “Doge-1 Mission”. Now, we can say Dogecoin is going to the moon. Literal moon.
The current state of DOGE
Ever since Musk got involved, Dogecoin has been crazy. It never reached its ambitious $1 target, but it rose 19.000% since the start of the year. By the time we’re writing this, it is the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. And nothing says it can’t achieve the $1 goal in the future.
Not only that, but the Dogecoin fever triggered a whole lot of meme-inspired cryptocurrencies that are trying to follow its path. Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Australian Safe Shepard (ASS) are just some of all the coins seeking to take advantage of DOGE’s crazy ride and the power of memes. Some people are actually calling this “a memecoin cycle”.
You can check DOGE financial market data, such as trading volume, price and market capitalization on The Crypto App. Download it here.
The crypto market is unpredictable, so be cautious
Although we can’t deny this whole DOGE and memecoin cycle is amusing, it is also tremendously risky. Right now, newbies and inexperienced traders are buying DOGE for profits without really understanding it. These hyped-up coins with a low market cap make for an excellent target for pump and dump schemes. So, unless you are Elon Musk, be sure you understand the risks and invest what you can afford to lose.
