Want to buy Dogecoin?
See how to buy Dogecoin in Australia in 4 steps.
| Ticker symbol | DOGE |
|---|---|
| Use | Digital Asset |
| Year released | 2013 |
| Origin | United States |
| Maximum supply | Unlimited supply |
| Consensus algorithm | Proof of Work |
| Notable team members | Jackson Palmer (left in 2015) |
| Mineable? | Yes |
Dogecoin (DOGE) began life as a joke.
Software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer created DOGE to be a humorous cryptocurrency, naming it after the Shiba Inu “doge” meme.
Eventually it grew in value, with thousands of users, and whole Internet communities emerged around sharing the currency and posting memes about the coin online.
Over time the dedicated fanbase (and Elon Musk) have helped propel Dogecoin to become one of the most recognised cryptocurrencies on the market.
Dogecoin is a type of cryptocurrency known as a "memecoin", with some design features similar to that of Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC).
It began as a protest by software engineers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus in 2013 to demonstrate that anyone could create a cryptocurrency.
Both developers left the project in 2015, leaving it in the hands of the community who began to use it primarily for fundraising and tipping.
Dogecoin gained traction through tipping thanks to its high inflation rate and low value.
Instead of tipping someone $1 of Bitcoin, which in late 2015 would have been around 0.025 BTC, a user could instead tip approximately 7,500 Dogecoin for an equivalent dollar value. This form of unit bias (where a larger number of something is perceived as more valuable even if the actual value is the same) has arguably helped contribute to Dogecoin's success.
Dogecoin has also become one of the most iconic coins on the market, thanks to memes, a cult-like following, and even celebrity endorsements by self-proclaimed former Dogecoin CEO Elon Musk.
While many other altcoins are attempting to become something bigger than a simple currency transaction platform, Dogecoin has stuck to its roots and is now primarily used on platforms such as Reddit and Twitter to tip other users for information, funny posts or whatever else is deemed tip-worthy.
Dogecoin uses proof-of-work mining using specialised computers, similar to how Bitcoin is mined. As a fork of Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin uses a similar Scrypt mining algorithm to that used by LTC.
A new Dogecoin block is mined approximately every minute and rewards 10,000 Dogecoin to the successful miner.1
This equates to an effective inflation rate of 5.256 billion coins per year. This high rate of inflation threatens the long-term stability of Dogecoin's price.
Initially, mining gave out a random amount of DOGE, but this was changed to a fixed reward in March 2014.
"While these days memecoins make up a decent percentage of the crypto markets, the concept didn't exist when Dogecoin launched in 2013. As such, Dogecoin occupies a special place in the crypto industry as the one true "blue chip" memecoin."
Before becoming one of the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation in 2021 (when a single Dogecoin cost as much as US$0.65), DOGE was historically a super cheap cryptocurrency.
Before 2021, a single Dogecoin never cost more than a cent. Thanks to such a low unit cost, DOGE became a popular way of tipping people, as it made the tips look bigger than they actually were in dollar terms.
For example, in September 2017 a single Dogecoin cost approximately US$0.0008 to purchase. Users who want to tip other users for small amounts have a much easier time doing it than with another coin.
Using those September 2017 figures, to give someone US$0.10 would have cost 125 DOGE, but 0.000027 BTC.
Combined with the philosophy that DOGE should be used to reward other people quickly and easily, it’s a common occurrence to see Reddit and Twitter users tipping each other small amounts of DOGE for entertaining posts.
In 2014, Dogecoin won hearts and minds by raising $30,000 to send the Jamaican bobsleigh team to the Sochi Winter Olympics.
In a matter of hours, the community pitched in 25 million DOGE (worth roughly US $0.00028 per coin at the time).2
Standard Dogecoin transfers (such as those made to pay for a product or service online) are carried out in much the same way as other altcoins, as long as you own some DOGE in a Dogecoin compatible wallet.
Here’s how it works:
You can make money with Dogecoin in one of three ways:
While it has sometimes been called the Internet’s favourite altcoin, Dogecoin is not without its cons.
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