The Main Memecoin Turned 11. How has Dogecoin Changed?

The first meme cryptocurrency that spawned a $130 billion token market continues to be both criticised and supported.

On 6 December 2024, at 14:30, Dogecoin is trading at around $0.42. According to CoinGecko's early data on the price of DOGE, it was $0.00055878 on 15 December 2013. Since then, the coin has increased in value by 76.692%.

Over the years, the cryptocurrency that started out as a joke has gathered a large community around it. Shops, airlines and hotels have started to accept Dogecoin as a payment method. A film was made and a monument erected in honour of the cryptocurrency symbol. Donald Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency in the United States, whose acronym, according to Dogecoin enthusiast Elon Musk, stands for D.O.G.E. (Department Of Government Efficiency).

What is the Meaning of DOGE?

On 6 December 2013, developers Billy Marcus and Jackson Palmer created Dogecoin, ironically poking fun at the cryptocurrency market at the time. The coin's mascot was a picture of a Shiba Inu dog named Kabosu. In 2010, the owner of the puppy, Atsuko Sato, took a picture of Kabosu for her blog. The picture went viral after it appeared with the name 'doge' on the Reddit platform.

Marcus and Palmer launched Dogecoin as a joke, ridiculing the useless tokens that appeared daily on the cryptocurrency market. A few years later, the founders of DOGE abandoned the project, disappointed by what its development had brought.

The popularity of Dogecoin led to the emergence of many memecoin 'clones'. As Marcus pointed out, the 'meme' cryptocurrencies, unlike DOGE, began to be created solely for profit and to enrich their creators.

As of 6 December, the capitalisation of all memecoins exceeds $134 billion. The daily trading volume is $30.2 billion.

According to the creators of DOGE, they received no benefit from the launch of memecoin, and Marcus got rid of all his DOGE as early as 2015, selling the coins for next to nothing. Subsequently, he rejoined the memecoin developers' board.

The Dogecoin manifesto today states, "We are Dogecoin, a casual cryptocurrency movement that makes people smile." According to the manifesto, the goals of the developers and the entire DOGE ecosystem are to create a "currency for people," one that can "really be useful to humanity to buy a coffee or pay the rent."

To date, about 2,500 businesses and shops worldwide accept Dogecoin as a payment method, according to Cryptowerk. Also according to the platform, around 26% of all cryptocurrency payments for goods and services are made in DOGE.

Also, altcoin is widely used in various crowdfunding projects, including charities.

What's been Said About Dogecoin?

In spring 2019, Elon Musk declared that Dogecoin was his favourite cryptocurrency. The billionaire mentioned it several times, and each time the value of DOGE often increased by tens of percentage points.

Tesla began selling some of its products accepting the meme coin as a method of payment, and SpaceX announced that it would accept payments in Dogecoin to launch a Canadian satellite into orbit. Each such piece of news pushed the price of DOGE up. However, the rise was often followed by equally significant corrections.

Dogecoin reached its all-time high on 8 May 2021, at $0.73. This happened after Musk announced his appearance on a popular American television programme, calling himself the 'Dogefather'. However, within a day of the record, the value of the coin dropped to $0.44.

At the same time, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor compared buying Dogecoin to buying a lottery ticket. According to him, it could be an enjoyable activity with a "chance to win some money." However, Saylor pointed out that Dogecoin's popularity had its advantages: it attracted a large number of enthusiasts to the cryptocurrency industry.

Market analysts have often discussed the project's lack of future. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz compared the growth of Dogecoin to the 'pump' of GameStop's stock. Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert predicted a drop in Dogecoin's capitalisation from $37 billion to $1 billion in 2021.

The CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, also criticised the cryptocurrency "meme." He stated that Dogecoin's issuance is not limited, making it unsuitable for the cryptocurrency market, as many investors use digital assets to hedge against inflation.

Dogecoin was also mentioned by CNBC anchor Jim Cramer, who is known for his "wrong predictions." He claimed that the meme coin would be subject to regulatory oversight, as it represents an unregistered security.

Who Supports Dogecoin

The Doge Foundation, a non-profit organisation, is responsible for supporting and developing memecoin. Founded in 2014, it had stopped its activities for several years. In the summer of 2021, the Dogecoin Foundation resumed its activities and updated its advisory board. Members include Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, Jared Birchall, representative of Elon Musk, Billy Marcus, co-founder of Dogecoin, and developer Max Keller.

In 2023, an NFT community of fans of Dogecoin called Own The Doge started producing a 'documentary' film about the meme cryptocurrency and decided to install a statue of the dog Kabosu in Japan. On 24 May 2024, it was learned that Kabosu, the symbol of memecoin, had died at the age of 18.

Late this year, the memecoin DOGE received strong support during the US elections. President-elect Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk and his former chief rival Vivek Ramaswamy would lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) in the US government. Since the announcement, Dogecoin's value has risen 120%. According to cryptocurrency market experts, Musk's appointment to head the new department could further stimulate the token's growth, but it is important to remember that DOGE remains a highly speculative asset.