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A practical crypto joke in 2013 is worth about $50 billion today
- Dogecoin, a popular cryptocurrency, had briefly dislodged XRP as the world’s fourth-largest cryptocurrency.
- A record-high rally price of $0.43 has led to Doge taking the coveted place.
- However, it still has a long way to catch up with the leaders.
What happens when two bored software engineers try out a practical joke? It could lead to taking the crypto world by surprise. The story of Doge is no less than astounding as it celebrates what its loyal users call April 20 as “Doge Day”.
Created in jest, becomes one of the best.
Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, two software engineers from IBM and Adobe, respectively, have been credited with the invention of Dogecoin. They put together the trending meme of “Doge” and the frenzy surrounding cryptos to produce a token which they named “Dogecoin”. The technology stack underlying the virtual token is unique, quite dissimilar to other cryptos in existence. It does not limit the total amount of Dogecoins that can be mined, unlike Bitcoin, where a cumulative total of only 22 million tokens can be in existence. This probably has led to Doge’s lower valuation. However, interest in Doge has spiked in the past few weeks leading it to occupy the fourth spot in the world’s top cryptos.
Unprecedented growth rates
Data collected from Messari put Doge’s market capitalization at $54 billion compared to Ripple’s $53.4 billion, making Doge overtake Ripple’s native XRP token. Nevertheless, XRP is currently changing hands at $1.41 compared to Doge, which has hit a lifetime high of only $0.45. Yet, the statistical growth rate of Doge over the past week is close to 400%. Experts calculate the probability of Doge hitting the $1 mark by 2021-end as 17%.
April 20 is seen as the unofficial “Doge Day”, and several enthusiasts are clamouring for Doge to hit the 69 cent mark on 4/20 – a parody as the whole of Doge is viewed as a meme.
Yet, speculations among financial experts are abuzz about whether the current price surge is just a bubble waiting to burst. It is also important to note that about 65% of all Dogecoins minted to date are locked in just 98 wallets worldwide. Five wallets control about 40% of the token’s circulation. Large shareholders may immediately sell off Doge once it reaches a reasonable price, leading to a consequent drop.
In any case, this is a massive milestone for the parodical token with expectations on the rise.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
