DOGE: The Lark that ‘Surprised’ us all.
The altcoin that started as a joke now ranks among the largest cryptocurrencies in the world — What?
In the last 12 months, Doge has gone up a staggering 22,879%
At the time of writing, Doge has surpassed Ripple in market capitalization and now sits as the world’s 4th largest cryptocurrency.
What was originally created as a joke in 2013 now has a market capitalization in excess of the GDP of many countries and has many cryptocurrency pundits scratching their heads wondering, “What just happened?”.
If you were fortunate enough to spend $100 on Doge in May 2015 it would have bought you just over one million Dogecoins. At today's price, that works out to…a lot!
According to CoinMarketCap, the ROI for Doge stands at 101,187%.
The rise to fame and market share that has been achieved by Doge is nothing but spectacular - to say the least. It would be hard to believe this story if the whole world wasn’t watching as it happened. Doge is also a living testament to the potential that is possible with cryptocurrencies.
If there ever was an underdog, Doge was its name.
So, how did this joke become so popular and valued so much?
Recent Popularity
It was in late January during the much-publicized GameStop episode that Dogecoin came back into the limelight when the very public GameStop incident resulted in many frustrated GameStop traders entering the cryptocurrency space, with Doge being a popular choice among them.
Further, with support from Elon Musk, a growing online community, and increasingly more mainstream coverage, Dogecoin has quickly grown into a cryptocurrency superpower and now has a community of backers with their sights of $1 per Dogecoin.
However, this recent popularity still doesn’t explain the uniqueness of Doge or the attributes that made it popular in the first place.
What makes Dogecoin so unique?
Is it possible to pull apart Doge to better understand how this underdog did so well, despite the odds set against it?
In an excellent report written by Galaxy Digital Research, titled The Most Honest Sh*tcoin, they examined the satirical currency with 22 pages of in-depth analysis and commentary and I thought I might find the answer there.
The report was quite detailed and mentioned a few positives and many negatives, from the limited development (almost non-existent since 2017) to the inflationary nature of the coin. But more importantly, in my opinion, the report concluded with.
Dogecoin’s longevity is ensured so long as one truism is remains: people love a good joke.
It’s at this point I’d like to pick up where they left off.
When addressing the question of what makes Doge so special, maybe we need to look outside technical analysis and look into the value Doge provides — Or rather the value being exchanged. In the case of Doge, I believe it is an intangible quality we have yet to clearly define.
Dogecoin has tapped into a compartment of human nature that knows no borders, has no boundaries, and speaks no languages (other than broken English).
Dogecoin tapped into something very human in all of us and offers a mechanism or rather, “currency” to express it.
What is Doge?
Doge is much more than just a cryptocurrency, it’s become a phenomenon of sorts. It’s an idea (meme) that transverses language and culture, and it's the unifying quality we all share and love - humor (in all its forms).
Doge is a feeling, it’s a community, a system of reciprocity, and a mechanism to spread fun and enjoyment — just ask the many Dogecoin investors who are smiling today.
Where the Basic Attention Token (BAT) is exchanging value for an individual's attention, Doge can be perceived as exchanging value (Dogecoin) for humor.
The New Era of Wealth Creation:
Cryptocurrencies are not just a way to make money. It’s a way for a community to support an idea, belief, or value.
In this digital era, we are seeing ideas, beliefs and values have power when shared among a large enough community. As we have recently seen with the GameStop Reddit community and now with Doge.
This article isn’t really about Doge. It’s about what Dogecoin represents in the cryptocurrency community. For me, Dogecoin represents a currency for humor and a new perspective on value creation.
Humor as a Medium of Exchange
Is it really possible for humor to be a medium of exchange? Whether you agree with me on this perspective or not, what we are seeing develop within the investment (e.g. GameStop) and cryptocurrency space are growing and powerful communities being built on a set of shared beliefs, attitudes, and feelings.
