It’s safe to say that the Dogecoin phenomenon has calmed down quite a bit from its peak in late 2013, when it seemed like everyone was mining or buying Dogecoins and donating large sums of them to charities and athletes in order to promote the cryptocurrency. The hype doesn’t seem to have entirely died down, though, judging by the amount of attention Dogecoin continues to receive, particularly on social media sites like Twitter and Reddit. I happened upon Dogecoin just last week, and since then, I haven’t been able to get it out of my head! I Thought the Dogecoin Craze Was Over
How Dogecoin got its start
The currency got its start after Jackson Palmer, an Adobe product manager based in Sydney, came across a news story about a Japanese exchange that began accepting dogecoins. Intrigued by such Internet silliness, he tweeted Investing in Dogecoin, pretty sure it’s the next big thing. His girlfriend wrote to him that night and said she’d purchased $30 worth of coins for him.
What makes this coin so different?
There are other crypto coins, but none has achieved such popularity as dogecoin. Many people believe that its wide acceptance on social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter have been integral to its recent rise in value. But at about $0.0004 per coin, dogecoins aren’t really worth much — more of a novelty than anything else. Is it possible that it is being used for nefarious purposes like buying illegal drugs? Maybe.
How does someone get started?
You will have to sign up for an account on a cryptocurrency exchange and then you can make deposits via bank transfer, credit card or even other cryptocurrencies. Once you have funds in your account you will be able to buy/sell dogecoins by placing a market order or limit order. To mine dogecoins, get a mining rig (or multiple mining rigs) set up, which involves more research into hardware and software but is ultimately a rewarding experience.
Advantages over fiat currency
This means that, unlike dollars or pesos, which are controlled by central banks, there is no organization (like a bank) to control dogecoins. The number of coins that can be created is infinite, while the supply of fiat currencies like dollars and euros is limited. Governments cannot use inflation to devalue their way out of debt; with dogecoins increasing in value over time, it would be impossible for a government to inflate away its debts.
Disadvantages to using dogecoins
There are a few problems with using dogecoins. First, they aren’t widely accepted, which is an issue that any cryptocurrency user is going to run into. The second major problem comes from that fact that dogecoins can’t be broken down into tiny fractions. This means you have to deal with coins worth thousands of dollars rather than just cents or hundreds of dollars. Third, there’s no special infrastructure for merchants dealing in dogecoins.