If you know anything about memes, you would more than likely have heard about doge, a goofy-looking Shiba Inu that’s been popularised from a YouTube video. Regardless, the meme has spawned one cryptocurrency: Dogecoin. From this, you might think that it’s just a joke. However, this isn’t true. Dogecoin is a legitimate cryptocurrency that has seen a surge in its ecosystem, and many see its future as a pretty bright one.
Of course, since it’s a new cryptocurrency, you might be wary about investing in it. Today, we want to share more about Dogecoin to help you understand whether it is worth your money:
The History of Dogecoin
Dogecoin was created in December of 2013 by Billy Markus, a programmer from Portland, Oregon, and Jackson Palmer, a marketer from Australia. Both of them wanted to create a fun cryptocurrency and used a popular meme to do so. This is why, Dogecoin was based on the Shiba Inu Doge meme.
Since then, the currency has grown quite a following and has seen quite a spike in its value. As of January 2018, Dogecoin has a market cap of over $430 million and a coin value of $0.002098. Since its creation in December of 2013, its value has risen by over 20,000%. It has been called the ‘joke cryptocurrency’ and has even had the Dogecar, a NASCAR vehicle sponsored by Dogecoin.
What’s the Difference Between Dogecoin and Bitcoin?
The first thing you should know about Dogecoin is that it’s based on Litecoin. Many cryptocurrencies are forks of each other, meaning they’re built from the same source code and therefore share a lot of similarities. However, this is not true with Dogecoin and Bitcoin; they’re based on different codes.
Dogecoin and bitcoin do have some similarities. For example, both cryptocurrencies use Proof-of-work (POW) mining. This is when you need to solve complex problems in order to earn cryptocurrency. By solving these problems, you’re verifying the transactions in the blockchains and receiving a reward for doing so.
However, Dogecoin does have some differences from bitcoin. For example, a bitcoin block takes about 10 minutes to generate, but a Dogecoin block only takes 1 minute. Also, the Dogecoin network produces roughly 100 billion coins, four times more than the number of bitcoins that will be produced.
While it is true that the coin is designed to be a joke, the creators have done their best to ensure that the coin is stable and have made improvements to it over time. It is also worth noting that it has one of the largest communities online.
How to Mine Dogecoin
Dogecoin can be mined, just like Bitcoin. The difference with it is that it isn’t that popular, and so the cost of mining isn’t that high. You can also choose to do solo or pool mining, whichever you find to be more convenient.
There are only a few Dogecoin mining pools available. You can download the official wallet from its website and then select a mining pool that you would like to join. The software will then connect to the network and start mining for coins.Should you choose pool mining, you will be sharing your resources with other miners on the network to make it easier to find blocks, and this means that you will get a better payout. You will need your wallet address to receive the coins that you have mined.
What’s Next for Dogecoin?
The coin is stable, and it has a highly active community online. However, there are some things that could be improved with it to increase its value. One of these is increased stability. Because it is not as popular or widely used as other cryptocurrencies, the value of the coin fluctuates quite a bit.
Dogecoin is still a work in progress, but it has a bright future ahead of itself. While it isn’t a very well-known cryptocurrency, it is a fun one, and it might just be what you need to invest in if you are looking for a cryptocurrency that has the potential to have a lot of growth in the future. Of course, whether you invest in Dogecoin is up to you. Then again, with how well the cryptocurrency is growing and the incredible support its community is giving to Dogecoin, it seems to be one of the better investments you can make right now!