In the recent past, Dogecoin has gone viral, to become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. According to ICO analytics, it was the most talked-about digital currency on Twitter in February 2021, a favorite meme and topic of many, including Elon Musk.

This blog talks about the origin of Dogecoin, how it gained popularity, its performance among other cryptos, and its future.

What Is Dogecoin?

                                                                                              What is Dogecoin?

Dogecoin (DOGE) is an open-source, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. It’s considered an almost-sarcastic meme coin and an altcoin. Launched in 2013 December, it has an image of the Shiba-Inu- dog as the logo.

While it was seemingly created as a joke, its blockchain has some merit.

The underlying technology behind this crypto is Liteon.

The notable features of the cryptocurrency that uses the scrypt algorithm are its unlimited supply and low price.

The Origin of Dogecoin

It was founded as a joke in December 2013 based on a popular meme of the Doge. Since the joke truly caught on, the digital currency market cap has grown to $7 billion.

The Meaning Of A ‘Doge’

The Doge is an inspiration from an internet meme of a Japanese dog breed called Shiba Inu (Shibe). The meme consists of a Shiba Inu dog picture accompanied in the backgrounds supported by a multicolored text.

Jackson Palmer, the founder, used it as a joke to combine to most popular trends at that time, the cryptocurrency and the dog.

In his tweet, he noted,” Investing in Dogecoin is the next big thing.” that tweet received a lot of focus. He later bought dogecoin.com, uploading a photoshopped image of a coin with a Shibe on it.

The viral website and tweet caught the attention of IBM engineer Billy Markus. He contacted Palmer to help make Dogecoin a real cryptocurrency. Despite Palmers’s late response, he immediately began the project that took three hours, and set up Dogecoin live over his lunch break.

Both Palmer and Markus didn’t believe this cryptocurrency could take off.

How Dogecoin Became Popular

Dogecoin originally went live in Dec 2013, becoming an instant hit in the crypto community. The crypto was comical and could be mined easily at a fraction of a cent. The outrageousness of its creation was a welcomed breath to those who wanted to play freely with cryptocurrency.

Within two weeks, Reddit channel users were over 19,000, making doges price skyrocket by 300%, despite China’s announcement against payment companies dealing with Bitcoin.

A Caring And Real Utility Community

In 2014, the DOGE community eagerly wanted to prove that cryptocurrency has real-world utility. They began raising funds under DOGE donations to support a range of charitable and sporting causes.

They first raised $30,000 in a few hours to send Jamaicans to the bobsled team to the 2014 Olympics in China.

Various mainstream news outlets helped broadcast crypto projects worldwide. By mid-January, the DOGEdaily transaction volumes overtook Bitcoin briefly and other cryptocurrencies.

Another initiative, “Doge4Kids,” began in January, raising $30,000 for a charity that provides service dogs to children with special needs.

In March 2014, the Dogecoin community-supported Charity water project contributed $50,000 to build water- facilities in Kenya. This generous donation allowed a US-based NGO to build two water wells in the country.

Celebrity Dogecoin Supporters

                                                                                          Celebrities Endorse Dogecoin

Another major reason for the global popularity is the growing influential celebrity endorsers that voice their support openly for Shiba Inu-themed crypto on social media. This list includes Netflix’s star Carole Baskin, former bodybuilder Kai Greene, Kiss singer Gene Simons, and American rappers Lil Yachty and Snoop Dogg.

However, the most notable Dogecoin endorsement was by Tesla’s Elon Musk.

Therefore, it became popular due to its selfless community, real-world utility, and light-hearted origin.

In the last few years, it has become a crypto avatar for the meme culture supported by internet personalities such as Elon Musk and online communities. As the culture’s influence rises, DOGE’s value has skyrocketed, taking a life its founders never intended.

How Does Dogecoin Fair Among Other Cryptocurrencies

According to Forbes Advisor, Dogecoin is the 10^th among the top cryptocurrencies in November 2021. It has a market cap of over $38 billion, and its price by the end of October 2021 was $0.29.

Is There A Difference Between Dogecoin And Other Cryptocurrencies?

Cryptocurrency can be created for various purposes and may occupy different parts of the crypto universe. Below are some differences between Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin, each with a maximum number of coins and a distinct purpose.

Cryptocurrency Purpose

Each of the three cryptocurrencies was launched for a different purpose. Dogecoin notably was a satire on the rising Bitcoins popularity and its doge meme featuring charismatic Shiba Inu.

However, Ethereum and Bitcoin are created for a more serious purpose, including acting as a store of value and facilitating transactions.

Market Capitalization

Market capitalization consists of the total extant coins multiplied by the current trading price. Bitcoin has the highest market cap, with Ethereum at a distant second, while DOGE is among the top 10 digital currencies, according to CoinMarketCap. The trader cluster around the most popular crypto and the value drop significantly for those below the top 20.

While the currencies are among the most popular among traders, Bitcoin has emerged as mainstream due to ease of access and various ways to store or purchase the currency.

Coin Issuance

It’s critical to note the coins that can be issued on each cryptocurrency. Most trades flock to BTC due to its hard issuance limit of $ 21 million.

If demand rises and money flows into BTC, the fixed limit ensures the price rises over time. While it may be good for traders, it makes Bitcoin difficult to use as currency.

In contrast, Ethereum is unlimited in issuance but has a fixed issuance schedule that can slow the production of other coins. Meanwhile, Doge production is unlimited as part of the joke.

Unlimited issuance hasn’t stifled the skyrocketing of the crypto in 2021. From around half a penny in Jan, the price rose to $0.32 by the end of April.

The Future of Dogecoin As Indicated By the Experts

Finder, a comparison website for products, published the July 2021 price prediction survey on Dogecoin. It determined if the joke had reached its use or if the cryptocurrency would jump in price.

The experts were to give their Dogecoin price forecast from 2025 up to 2030. According to this panel, “Doge’s value will hit $1.21 on average in the year 2025 and up to $3.60 in 2030.”

However, Finder noted that the currency’s high value was due to “an outlier pulling the average price up” in December 2025. The predictions range between $0 and $10, with an average of $1.21. A senior lecturer at Brighton Business School, Paul Levy gave the highest prediction and valued DOGE at $10. The company noted that 30% of their panelists see DOGE worth more than $1 in 2025.

What Do The Experts Say?

Some experts are pessimistic about this crypto’s future.

Futurist and technologist Joseph Raczynski observe, “Dogecoin price will go to $0 eventually. There are more than 200 crypto projects worth more than Dogecoin.” He opined.

Finder observed that around 15% of the expert panel that provides price predictions” expect that Dogecoin will crest at its elusive $1 mark.”

A Ph.D. candidate at the University of Saskatchewan, Ajay Shrestha, believes the meme coins price might reach $1, “only if Dogecoin receives continuous support from Elon Musk. Otherwise, it can’t get much hype.” CEO Julian Host also believes DOGE will be $1. However, he says,” It will be a dump and pump.”

In the panel, some experts are not as optimistic. University of Canberra senior lecturer John Hawkins predicts that Dogecoin’s price will be $0.15 by 2021. He observes.” DOGE seems dependent largely on Elon Musk’s narrative tweets. It is barely a payment instrument and not the best store of value.

Moreover, the panel details. It’s safe to say the panel feels frustrated about Doge. 80% call the digital coin a bubble, while 10% note it isn’t a bubble and the remaining 10% are unsure.

Final Takeaway

Besides a meme coin, Dogecoin proposes financial freedom, with funds control over banking and governmental entities.

Also, it offers control over assets through the P2P transactions that Bitcoin did before its launch in 2013.

Therefore, DOGE gives over financial assets and financial management to ordinary people and is synonymous with freedom.

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The post The Rise And Rise Of Dogecoin appeared first on Fixbracket.

As curiosity kicks in (maybe a little late though, but never too late), we’ve tried to decipher, and hopefully, in a simple way, the key things we need to understand about a cryptocurrency.

Virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies are digital mediums of exchange to trade created by groups or individuals.

Since governments don’t regulate most cryptocurrencies, they are an alternative means of exchange outside the state monetary policy.

Bitcoin is the major cryptocurrency with first-wide applications.

However, there are many digital coins, with more coming up each month. Collectively, non-bitcoin cryptocurrencies are called altcoins to distinguish them.

A Brief History Of Cryptocurrency

The story of the virtual coins began with David Chaum. The Americans developed the system called eCash and later the DigiCash that made economic transactions confidential using cryptography. However, the term cryptocurrency was first used in 1998 when Wei Dai thought about a new payment method with a cryptographic system.

Satoshi Nakamoto: First Cryptocurrency

                                                  Satoshi Nakamoto

In 2008 during the funding crisis, the coins were fast losing value. In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin as the first cryptocurrency.

Many assume Satoshi Nakamoto to be a pseudonym.

The reason was to develop a way of payment to be used internationally without the control of financial institutions. The inspirations were the global financial crisis and the need to see a form of money different from the conventional form.

The Popular Types of Cryptocurrencies

Although Ethereum and Bitcoin dominate cryptocurrency investments, there are over 1,500 cryptocurrencies. This is due to the highly competitive market, making most currencies not gain traction.

According to Coinbase, below are the top-performing cryptocurrencies in 2021.

Bitcoin (BTC)

                                                         Bitcoin, unsplash.com

Market cap: Over $820 billion

BTC is the original cryptocurrency created in 2009.

It runs on a ledger logging blockchain transactions that are distributed in a network of computers. Due to the addition of distributed ledgers, it must be verified by solving cryptographic puzzles.

As of 22^nd October 2021, the price was $61,182.81.

The performance of BTC over the years can be illustrated in the graph below.

                                             Bitcoin cryptocurrency performance chart, statista.com

Ethereum (ETH)

(ethereum.org)

Market Cap: Over $354 billion

Ethereum is a popular program to developers as a blockchain and cryptocurrency platform due to its applications like smart contracts that execute automatically on certain conditions.

Ethereum has experienced growth in five years, from $11 to about 3,000 by the end of September 2021.

Tether (USDT)

Market cap: Over $68 billion

Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Tether is a stablecoin backed by fiat money such as the euro and the US dollar. It hypothetically retains its value similar to one of these currencies. In theory, this means Tether’s value is stable unlike other cryptocurrencies, and favored by investors wary of extreme volatility.

Cardano (ADA)

Market cap: Over $68 billion

Somehow new to the crypto scene, Cardano is famous for its embrace of proof-of-stake validation.

The method expedites the transaction period and reduces environmental impact and energy usage. It eliminates problem-solving and competitive aspects of verification in other platforms like Bitcoin.

Also, it works like Ethereum as it enables decentralized applications and intelligent contracts powered by its native coin, ADA.

Compared to other crypto coins, it has modest growth. In 2007 the price of ADA was $0.02, while by the end of September 2001, it was $2.10.

Binance Coin (BNB)

(binance.com)

Market cap: over $65 billion

With Binance Coin, you can pay fees and trade on Binance.

Since its launch in 2017, the coin has grown by facilitating transactions on the Binance exchange platform. Today, you can use it for payment processing, trading, or booking travel arrangements. You can also trade for other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

In 2017, its price was $0.10, and by 30^th September, it had grown to over $382.

XRP

Market cap: over $45 billion

It was created by the founders of Ripple, a payment processing and digital technology company. XRP is used on the network for exchanges of various currency types, including other major cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies.

In early 2017, the price was $0.006. As of 30^th September 2021, it was $0.94.

Solana (SOL)

Market cap: Over $41 billion

It was developed to power decentralized finance uses, intelligent contracts, and decentralized apps (DApps). It runs on unique proof–of–history and proof-of-stake mechanisms to help process transactions securely and quickly. Solana’s native SOL powers the platform.

It was launched in 2020 when the SOL price was $0.77, and by the end of August was almost $140.

USD Coin (USDC)

Market Cap: Over $31 billion

Like Tether, USDC is a stablecoin backed by the US dollar aiming for a 1 USDC to 1 USD ratio. Powered by Ethereum, you can complete global transactions using USD.

Polkadot (DOT)

Market cap: Over $28 billion

Cryptocurrencies can use numerous blockchains. Polkadot integrates them through a crypto network connecting various blockchains to work together. The integration might change cryptocurrencies’ management leading to the high growth of Polkadot since its launch in 2020.

During the launch, its price was $2.93, and by 30 Sept 2021 was 25.61.

Dogecoin (DOGE)

(dogecoin.com)

Market cap: Over $26 billion

Famously started in 2013, it has become a prominent crypto option due to the creative memes and dedicated community. Unlike other cryptos like Bitcoin, there’s no limit to the creation of Degocoins, making it susceptible to devaluation when supply increases.

In 2017, Degocoin’s price was $0.0002, and by September 30^th, it was $0.2.

The Use Of Cryptocurrencies

(pexels.com)

Cryptocurrencies have grown in past years due to individuals seeking digital assets as alternative capital.

However, below are other uses of cryptocurrencies across different domains.

Money Transfer Via Cryptocurrency

Receiving and making payments at high speed and low cost is a popular application of cryptocurrencies. It is due to venture capital funds, institutional investors, fintech in digital currencies, and distributed ledger technology.

Crypto payments are peer–to–peer (P2P) since users can send and receive payments instantly worldwide without approvals from external sources. Moreover, there are no banking, returned deposits, or overdraft charges.

Store of Wealth

Unlike cash, digital currencies like crypto are a secure alternative way to store wealth that is censorship-resistant. It means that only people with private keys can access the wallets, unlike traditional banks, which are vulnerable to thefts, hacks, and malpractices. Therefore, personal digital wallets can’t be frozen by governments or authorities.

Decorrupting Charities

The donations to charities based on crypto are transparent, cost-effective, and faster than conventional currencies. It is because Blockchain, the underlying technology, enables the transparent flow of information. Besides, cryptocurrency donations send more cash to NGOs as it also facilitates anonymous contributions.

Gaming

Today, crypto-based games are popular since they solve some fraud and transaction problems that players and game developers encounter. Crypto games offer decentralized and streamlined payments that provide ownership to players and encourage more purchases through easy transfers from the games.

Some land-based casinos also use crypto and offer players tokens as a reward for playing.

How to Buy Cryptocurrency?

(pexels.com)

When new to crypto, buying digital coins can seem challenging. Thankfully you can follow the easy steps below.

Choose Crypto Exchange Or Broker

To buy cryptocurrency, you first need a crypto exchange or broker.

A crypto exchange is a platform for sellers and buyers to trade cryptocurrencies. Exchanges charge low fees but have a complex interface, advanced performance charts, and multiple trade types that make them intimidating to new investors.

The common exchanges are Coinbase, Binance.US, and Gemini.

Brokers eliminate the complexities to offer user-friendly interfaces. Some charge higher fees compared to exchanges.

Create And Verify An Account

When you decide on an exchange or broker, you can open up an account. You may need to verify your identity depending on the amount you want to buy and the platform. It’s an essential step against fraud and to meet the federal regulatory requirements.

Without completing the verification process, you may not sell or buy. The platform asks for a copy of your passport or driver’s license. To prove your identity, you upload a selfie.

Money To Invest In Cryptocurrency

To buy crypto, ensure you deposit funds in the account. To deposit, you can link your crypto account to your bank account and authorize a wire transfer or make payments with a credit or debit card. Depending on the broker or exchange and the funding method, you might wait a few days to use the money to buy crypto.

Place Order

Once you have money in the account, you can place the first currency order. When you decide on the currency to buy, enter its symbol, for instance, BTC for Bitcoin, and the number of coins to purchase.

Select Storage Method

Since crypto exchanges lack protection, they risk hacking or theft. Therefore, you need secure storage to place the cryptocurrencies. If buying through brokers, you have little choice in your storage, but you have more options that include hot and cold wallets with an exchange.

Conclusion Of The Cryptocurrency Guide

Investing in cryptocurrency is speculative, and you should commit funds you are comfortable losing. At times, the crypto assets fluctuate significantly due to intense volatility.

Also, investors can trade against sophisticated investors making the experience challenging for new players.

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The post Key Things To Know About Cryptocurrency. appeared first on Fixbracket.