Dogecoin: From Meme to Riches

Originally created as a parody based on a popular internet meme, Dogecoin has been making history lately. Yesterday, the market cap of the cryptocurrency surpassed $2 billion dollars, effectively placing it within the top 20 cryptocurrencies. Just two weeks ago, Dogecoin saw its market cap cross the monumental $1 billion barrier on Christmas day. According to data from CoinMarketCap, at its peak, Dogecoin was valued at $0.0186 per coin, essentially giving it a market cap of $2.089 billion.

Over the last month, the price of Dogecoin went from less than a quarter of a penny all the way up to $0.0186, increasing over 700% in 30 days.

SOURCE: CoinMarketCap

As of today, there are a total of 43 cryptocurrencies that have a market cap of over $1 billion. One year ago, there was only one.

What is Dogecoin and how did it come to be?

Funnily enough, Dogecoin was created in 2013 based on a Japanese shiba inu dog that quickly gained popularity with the help of an internet meme that dates all the way back to 2010. Nevertheless, Dogecoin is here to solve an actual problem rather than just being known as the ‘meme’ coin.

According to its official website, Dogecoin is an altcoin that utilizes peer-to-peer digital tokens descended from bitcoin to create a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency that enables people to easily send money online.

However, the meteoric rise in price of Dogecoin has been raising some eyebrows. Meet Jackson Palmer, the founder of Dogecoin who left the company approximately 5 months ago. In an interview with CoinDesk, Palmer admits that he finds it odd how a token like Dogecoin can increase so much in price even when the project has not released a single update in over 2 years.

Dave Chapman, managing director at Hong Kong-based commodities and digital assets trading house Octagon Strategy might have an answer for this.

In an interview with CNBC, he said:

“The most significant contributing cause for altcoins (like Dogecoin) to rise so parabolically is owing to the perception of ‘cheap’ coins. The two most well-known cryptocurrencies (i.e. Bitcoin and Ethereum) are considered too expensive for newest entrants. Despite being able to purchase a fraction of each, there is a real psychological barrier to owning something in its entirety.”

If you are interested in getting some Dogecoins, here are several methods:

• Buying them at online exchanges
• Get tipped
• Mining them

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