Hello, y'all. In this weekās Saturday analysis we look at whatās helping Dogecoin thrive.
Consider signing up for pay-what-you-want subscription to support our work - which is possible thanks to support from readers like you.
If you want to reach out to 150,000+ subscriber community of the Token Dispatch, you can explore the partnership opportunities with us.
āWhat is the only cryptocurrency that you should invest? Itās the peopleās currency that you know is the best.ā
Oh no. This isnāt a riddle.
We are singing. All the way to the moon, baby.
Rings a bell?
If it doesnāt, let us take you down the memory lane.
The video went viral when it came out three years ago but it didnāt change Dogecoinās fate.
Well, not much until a couple of months. And then it did.
On May 8, 2021, Dogecoin shot up almost as if it woke up suddenly from its slumber and recorded its all-time high of $0.7376.
But why are we singing Dogecoin today?
The memecoin that was developed as a joke more than a decade ago is now the seventh largest cryptocurrency in the market.
Today that joke is worth more than at least 100 of the Fortune 500 companies.
Dogecoin just touched $63.5 billion in market cap this week, jumping 297% in one month from $16 billion.
Itās price? Trading at a high last seen only in June 2021.
About 400% jump in the last 12 months. The price has doubled in just last 10 days since the verdict of Donald Trumpās re-election as the US President was sealed.
And then, there was the Department of Government Efficiency.
Trumpās decision to appoint Elon Musk - one of the biggest cheerleaders of Dogecoin - at the helm of the new federal department whose acronym reads D.O.G.E. also drove up demand for the memecoin.
How much demand?
Futures open interest for Doge has hit an all-time high of $2.94 billion.
Read: The DOGE Rises š¶
So, how did we get here?
Well, one word: Musk
Muskās love story with his āfav cryptocurrencyā goes way back before the elections.
Well, it all started with one tweet from the āDogefatherā.
And then there were more.
And more.
In April 2023, Musk changed Twitterās logo to the Shiba Inu dog associated with Dogecoin driving up the trading volumes.
He then teased a month before the elections about the role he would like to play if Trump was re-elected in the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E).
In fact, you see the all-high spike in the below chart that we spoke about? That too was driven by Musk, when he called Dogecoin a hustle on Saturday Night Live.
Donāt Miss Out on Our Weekly Features
Connecting dots to bridge the narrative that's shaping the crypto world. Saturday analysis written by Prathik Desai š
Crypto world can be a maze. Lot of information, not much context. Lot of noise, not much insight. Sunday explainers written by Thejaswini M Aš
But wait. This isn't just another memecoin pump.
Thereās more to Doge that has managed to keep it alive and kicking even when 97% of all memecoins ever created being dead.
More than the occasional Muskās tweets hyping it up.
So whatās helping the dog-themed coin thrive?
Doge was also developed to be a āpeopleās currencyā.
Meaning? While it was built on 90% of Bitcoin's code, it is much more affordable and easy to transact with.
Numbers
1-minute block time (vs Bitcoin's 10 minutes)
10,000 new coins mined every minute
Network processing over 50 transactions per second
Average transaction fee under $0.01
And this has pushed major retailers to accept DOGE for payments
Tesla
AMC Theaters
NewEgg
Gucci
Dallas Mavericks
Ralph Lauren
But does Doge have any utility beyond just payments?
Yes. Unlike the thousands of memecoins that die young, Dogecoin built serious infrastructure underneath the memes.
As many as 17 projects have been launched so far on Dogecoinās ecosystem so far.
In fact, with its recent bull run, it has also managed to grab some institutional money.
Clearly, not all think of it as a joke.
At least, Spirit Blockchain Capital CEO Lewis Bateman has faith.
"Everyone just thought it was a joke, but it actually has some meaningful underlying abilities that are unique. It's not some very small, little, esoteric altcoin."
What about Spirit Blockchain Capital?
Well, they want to become the MicroStrategy of Dogecoin through institutional push.
Acquiring Dogecoin Holdings
Developing ETF platform technology
Creating payment infrastructure
Building institutional-grade custody solutions
And Bateman says they have just started. Heās super bullish on institutionalising Doge.
"We are going to hold a significant balance sheet of Dogecoin over the coming months and coming years. But we also want to build out the ecosystem. We want to institutionalise that."
But what makes a memecoin so different from the rest?
Unlike most cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin is maintained entirely by volunteers.
There's no:
Founder getting rich
Pre-mine allocation
VC backing
Corporate control
Path Forward
While we are all busy riding the Doge rally, the Dogecoin Foundation is busy building crucial infrastructure that could cement DOGE's position beyond the meme era.
Key developments in the pipeline
Dogebox: A new solution making it easier to run full nodes
Libdogecoin: A C-library simplifying DOGE integration into applications
Gigawallet: Infrastructure for easier DOGE transactions and development
Super Doginals: Full-blown beat-'em-up game living right on the blockchain.
What makes this different from other crypto projects? No pre-allocation, no IPO, no founder rewards.
"DOGE is truly a people's currency where everyone can contribute," the Foundation emphasises.
As the project approaches its 11th birthday, the team's message is simple: "1 Ć = 1 Ć".
A reminder that beyond the price speculation, Dogecoin's core mission of "throwing spare change at each other over the internet" hasn't changed.
Token Dispatch View
Dogecoin has had an eventful decade.
It's outlasted thousands of "serious" projects and even managed to inspire other memecoins such as Shiba Inu.
Saw its lows and was woken up from its slumber by Musk more than once.
Now, Dogecoin sees itself yet again at another such fork in its journey. And perhaps, itās got its āfatherā taking charge of its namesake federal department under Trumpās administration.
It faces one question.
Will it manage to rise above its previous price range and prove its utility this time?
It will depend on how its community manage to build the infrastructure and make it attractive for investors and traders.
But for now, both investors and institutions are betting on the dog-themed coin. Some for quick money and others for the long game.
But, how can one be so serious about something that just began as a joke?
Well, sure, you could ignore it.
Itās just that if the joke you are ignoring is worth $60 billion, then maybe ā¦ just maybe ā¦ the joke is on you. š¤·š½āāļø
If you want to make a splash with us, book a demo call š¤
You can check out partnership opportunitiesš
This is The Token Dispatch find all about us here š
If you like us, if you don't like us .. either ways do tell usāļø
So long. OKAY? ā
I sold my Doge stack during āthe summer of Dogeā and made a tidy profit. I just recently got back in.