Intro
Dogecoin (DOGE) is a cryptocurrency running on a blockchain. It is an altcoin and a so-called meme coin. The coin was launched in December 2013. Why did it get such a weird name? Because its logo is a Shiba Inu dog.
Maybe it was minted as a joke, but Dogecoin's blockchain is still worthy. Its underlying technology is derivative of Litecoin. How does it stand out from the crowd? The most prominent features are script algorithm, low price, and infinite supply.
KEY FACTS
- Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency launched in 2013 by software engineers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus.
- Dogecoin (DOGE) started as a joke based on a popular meme with a Shiba Inu Japanese dog.
- As it is based on Litecoin, it uses the proof-of-work (PoW) technology.
- Dogecoin has quite a big and loyal community of supporters who trade it and use it as a tipping currency for social media content.
How Did DOGE Appear?
Dogecoin started as a joke, but after it was launched, it gained some popularity. Even after participating in the cryptocurrency bubble in 2017, which made the price quite high, but losing it in 2018, it significant player on the market. There is a vast community of supporters who use it to tip for content on Twitter or Reddit.
You can buy and sell Dogecoin on cryptocurrency exchanges such as SimpleSwap, Binance, Uniswap, and alike. You can also store your DOGE on an exchange or in a Dogecoin wallet.
Jackson Palmer created Dogecoin in 2013 to mock the crypto society and the hype around cryptocurrency. He was way too skeptical towards Bitcoin and alike coins, twitted about that cynically, but after being accepted and supported by people on Twitter, he created a domain — dogecoin.com.
Then Billy Markus, a software developer, discovered the Dogecoin puff. He contacted Palmer to get approval to build the software for DOGE.
The coin was built on Luckycoin, which derived from Litecoin, and initially used a randomized reward for block mining, and then that was replaced with a static reward. Dogecoin uses Litecoin's scrypt technology and is a Proof-of-Work (PoW) coin.
Palmer and Markus launched the coin on Dec. 6, 2013. After two weeks, on Dec. 19, the value of Dogecoin skyrocketed 300%.
Worth noticing, Dogecoin is an "inflationary coin," on the contrary, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are deflationary because there's a definite number of coins that will be minted. Every four years, the amount of Bitcoin released into circulation via mining rewards is halved, and its inflation rate is halved along with it until all coins are released.
What Is SHIBA INU?
Shiba Inu (SHIBUSD) is an altcoin (every coin except a bitcoin) based on Ethereum, whose design was inspired by the Shiba Inu—a Japanese dog breed. Shiba Inu is considered to be an alternative to Dogecoin; Some even call Shiba Inu "the Dogecoin killer."
Both coins, Shiba Inu and Dogecoin, are so-called meme coins, which are cryptocurrencies that are often launched as a parody or a joke more than as a serious digital product that has some utility. Dogecoin was launched in December 2013, while Shiba Inu was minted in August 2020 by an anonymous called Ryoshi.
KEY FACTS
- Shiba Inu is an Ethereum-based altcoin with a Shiba Inu dog as their symbol.
- It was created as an alternative to Dogecoin.
- Shiba Inu was launched in August 2020.
- Shiba Inu's value pumped in October 2021, giving it a market capitalization of about $35 billion and making it 10th among all cryptocurrencies.
Elon Musk's tweeter mentioning a picture of his new Shiba Inu puppy Floki brought an additional hype for the meme coin's price surge. As Musk is one of the most influential supporters of Dogecoin and a well-known "Dogefather," his tweets often result in definite volatility in the cryptocurrency space.
You can come closer to the Shiba Inu ecosystem by reading its "woof paper" (a play on white paper), which you can find at the ShibaToken.com website.
Shiba token was inspired by a simple question — "What would happen if a cryptocurrency project was 100% run by its community?" According to Ryoshi, the energy of collective decentralization can create something more powerful than a centralized authority. It sounds like it's a kind of socialists' token, created by people for people. The SHIBArmy's has over 500,000 members that weren’t prearranged in advance, there was nothing in the beginning.
Shiba Inu is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token, it is designed on and hosted by the Ethereum blockchain. Ryoshi wrote in his ‘woof paper’ that the idea to build the Shiba Inu ecosystem on Ethereum was driven by several crucial factors such as security and well-established of the network, but the most important point was that it allowed the project to be decentralized.
Once buying SHIBUSD, take into account that it costs almost nothing, the price is super volatile, and it has a limited utility.
Similarities Between DOGECOIN & SHIBA INU
- These two cryptocurrencies still function as currencies and speculative investment mechanisms, so they aren't integrated with a blockchain service like Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano's tokens.
- Those meme coins started as a reaction to the cryptocurrency madness, and both succeeded thanks to their strong communities.
- As you’ve already noticed, both tokens have the Shiba Inu dog in their designs.
Differences Between DOGECOIN & SHIBA INU
- Dogecoin is designed after Bitcoin, but Shiba Inu is an ERC-20 token. Shiba Inu's Ethereum connection means the token could have a smart contract feature.
- Dogecoin allows new tokens to be mined, still, Shiba Inu is deflationary, that's why tokens are regularly being burned and taken out of circulation.
- DOGE currently has a bigger market capitalization (at the moment of writing) of about $19.2 billion, while Shiba Inu has about $16.5 billion. Interesting to mention that Shiba Inu is a hotter topic according to Google Trends analysis.
- Shiba Inu is a way much younger than DOGE, so it can definitely catch up with it and even overtake DOGE in the near future.
Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Supply
It's essential to keep abreast of what coins supply is and how it will develop.
Dogecoin started with a limited supply of 100 billion coins. That means, no limit to how many Dogecoins can be mined. The currency is "inflationary," and it's essential to consider that, as long as mining limits don't change, the level of inflation will go down, as there are comparatively more coins out in circulation.
On the contrary, Shiba has another supply system. The total supply of SHIB was announced from the very beginning at one quadrillion. So 50% of these tokens were sent to Uniswap, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, and the other 50% were sent as a "tribute" to Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum's founder. Vitalik burned 90% of the SHIBA he was sent, and the other 10% was donated to the Indian Covid Relief Fund. Unfortunately, SHIBA can't be mined, and the part gets burned whenever someone buys the coin.
Why Meme Coins Aren’t That Funny
Just a brief point to look at. One of the problems with all meme coins, even the popular ones, is that they are dependent on people who are considered to be influencers. So, as an example, since Elon Musk promoted Dogecoin, it became quite popular. This came to a real 'Doge mania.'
Another illustrative example is Buterin gave his 50 million tokens which made the price of Shiba go down. If we are talking about more or less serious intentions towards investing money, we can't be satisfied with the fact that the price is so ridiculously volatile.
Bottom Line
So, that's how some jokes become a part of economics. A powerful team, a more or less elaborated plan, and a desire to create made it possible to launch such things as meme coins. Some people are just watching the situation and monitoring the prices with a hidden desire to invest, some are investing their money in such coins waiting for a vast income, but any investment decision is your responsibility based on reading, learning, comparing, and doing research.
Disclaimer: Notum does not provide any investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. This article is written for informational purposes only. Cryptocurrency is subject to market risk. Please do your own research and trade with caution.