We are truly living in the future when it comes to online currency, better known as cryptocurrency. There are various different kinds of cryptocurrencies available, with some being somewhat more well-established and viable than others.
One particularly interesting form of cryptocurrency is the Dogecoin, a currency that began its life as a joke, as it was created as a reference to an Internet meme of a Shiba Inu dog who would become known worldwide as the popular meme “Doge”.
But what is Dogecoin and is it an investment that could ever reach the valuation of $100?
We are going to be taking a deeper look at the odd, Internet meme-based beginnings of the Dogecoin currency, as well as whether it is a cryptocurrency worth investing in. Let’s get started.
What Is Dogecoin?
The origins of Dogecoin can be traced back to January 2014, when a programmer by the name of Billy Markus decided to create a new digital coin based on the popular internet meme of a Shiba Inu named “Doge”.
The idea behind this was to create a currency that had no real value, but instead used the popularity of the Internet meme to gain traction.
Dogecoin was able to gain attention by the use of a custom-built website called “Bitcointalk” which allowed people to discuss the creation of various cryptocurrencies.
The first version of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin was released in January 2014, and since then it has been steadily growing in popularity. It reached a peak price of around $0.004 per coin in mid-2014, before falling down to just under $0.002 per coin today.
How Does Dogecoin Work?
You need a wallet installed on your PC or mobile device in order for Dogecoin (DOGE) to work. Once you’ve downloaded your wallet onto your computer,
then you’ll be able to transfer coins from one wallet to another. You can also receive payments into your wallet if someone sends them to your address.
For example, if someone wants to buy something using Dogecoins, they would go to their wallet and purchase the item there. Once you’ve paid for it, simply transfer any money to the seller so that they can then pay you back with Dogecoins.
Alternatively, if you want to sell the coins, all you need to do is send them to another wallet that is also connected to the internet and wait for the money to arrive.
Why Is Dogecoin So Popular?
There are many reasons for Dogecoin’s popularity, and we’re not just talking about the cute Shiba Inu that is associated with it!
Dogecoin is not regulated by any central bank, meaning that it is completely free from government control. Second, it uses a proof-of-work system, meaning that users must perform complex mathematical calculations to mine the coins.
This means that it is very difficult for counterfeiters to produce fake coins, ensuring that only legitimate transactions can take place. Thirdly, because cryptocurrency is a decentralized currency, there are no third parties involved in its operation.
Instead, all transactions take place directly between the buyer and the seller. Dogecoin is also designed to be fun and easy to use. It’s not really about the actual worth of the coins themselves.
It is instead about the popularity of the Internet memes associated with the currency and the traction that this popularity can offer to the creators.
Is Dogecoin A Good Investment?
Like any other investment, Dogecoin has its risks. Dogecoin has more risks than some due to its meme-based inception. It is not as investable as other cryptocurrencies in terms of actually making money, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
On the other hand, as more people become familiar with cryptocurrency, more exchanges will open, allowing more people to invest.
As for Dogecoin prices, they tend to fluctuate quite a lot. When the price of an asset drops, many investors panic, and they often sell their coins at once, which leads to a rapid drop in value. This can cause the price of the product to drop even further.
On the flip side of things, when the price rises too high, many traders rush in to buy up large amounts of the currencies, causing the price to rise further.
As a rule, this creates a volatile market which is great for speculating, but not ideal for long-term investments. There are currently around two million Dogecoins in circulation. That means that only 0.0000002% of the world’s population actually owns Dogecoin currency.
With numbers like that, it is easy to see that there isn’t really enough demand for Dogecoins to make investing worthwhile for those who are more serious about investing in cryptocurrency.
Dogecoin Price History
The history of Dogecoin’s price is comparable to that of Bitcoin. At the beginning of 2013, the price of Dogecoin was $0.000001, but by December of that year, it had risen to $0.0001.
Over the next few months, the price continued to increase. The cryptocurrency then hit a high of $0.0004 in April 2014.
From there, it began to fall steadily until January 2016. At this time, it reached an all-time low of $0.0012. Since then, it’s been slowly rising again, and even managed to reach a new all-time high of $0.003 in August 2017.
How To Trade Dogecoin
One of the easiest ways to trade Dogecoin (DOGE) is through online trading platforms like LocalBitcoins.com. These trading platforms allow you to quickly buy and sell the coin at any given moment.
Some of these include Poloniex, Bitfinex, Bittrex Exchange, HitBTC, Kraken, Gemini, Coinbase Pro, etc
An alternative way to trade Dogecoin for cash is to exchange it for other cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies. It lets you convert your cryptocurrency into real-world money.
The best exchange for this is probably CoinBase as they offer both US dollars and euros.
What Is The Best Way To Invest In Dogecoin?
There are several ways you can invest in Dogecoin. One of the most popular ways to obtain digital currency is to buy it directly from an exchange.
You can do this by trading on an exchange. One way to invest in cryptocurrency is by purchasing shares in companies that accept Dogecoin as payment for goods and services.
For example, if a person wants to invest in a GoFundMe campaign, they could buy shares in the GoFundMe company instead of donating directly. You can also invest in other cryptocurrency exchanges.
Can Dogecoin Reach $100?
Unfortunately, it’s pretty much impossible for Dogecoin to ever reach a valuation of $100 as there isn’t actually enough money in the world!
The total amount of money in the world is around $87 trillion, with the GDP of China alone being around 15 trillion and the United States economy being worth around 21 trillion.
So if Dogecoin were to reach a value of $100, you would need to invest around $18 trillion. That’s a lot of money!
A $100 Dogecoin price would require an incredibly high market cap. Cryptocurrency exchanges would likely be overwhelmed by that much trading activity.
Many people believe that there aren’t enough cryptocurrencies to support such an enormous market cap. Most of the Dogecoins in circulation are held by just a few wallets, as we mentioned earlier.
Right now, Dogecoin is worth just under $0.0023, but it could be more valuable in the future, and people who own large amounts of Dogecoin may sell them when the value increases.
That being said, it is still highly unlikely that Dogecoin could ever reach a valuation of $100.
Final Thoughts
Dogecoin is a fun and interesting little cryptocurrency to play around with if you are able to do so. It has a volatile price and even more volatile nature due to the Internet humor on which it was created, but there are many different investment options for Dogecoin.
However, it is unlikely to ever become a major player in the cryptocurrency world. Dogecoin isn’t even close to becoming a valid alternative to the likes of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
It is just way too small and niche to be compared to some of the other cryptocurrencies out there.
That being said, why wouldn’t you want to own a cryptocurrency with an adorable Shiba Inu on it? What isn’t to like about that? Just don’t invest your life savings in it!
