OPINION: Yes: it’s a cryptocurrency made as a joke. Its technical development was stalled for years. Many serious crypto enthusiasts deride it as an embarrassment and a distraction.

But it’s also true that Dogecoin has shown remarkable staying power, resilience and a compelling story behind it. Investors and crypto fans would be mistaken to dismiss DOGE and similar memecoins as a flash in the pan. They’re here to stay.

Let’s remember that Doge was founded in late 2013, making the coin older than Ethereum by a year and a half.

Its huge rally in 2021 that brought Doge into the crypto top 10 is only reclaiming a position it held back in 2014, when it was also jockeying with XRP in the rankings.

crypto rankings
The 4 May 2014 crypto rankings, with Dogecoin in the five spot – the same position it occupies today.

 

Strong fundamentals

You want to talk fundamentals? Dogecoin does have an “infinite supply,” unlike Bitcoin which is famously capped at 21 million BTC.

But Ethereum doesn’t have a hard cap either, and it’s doing more than alright. Besides, Bitcoin’s hard cap won’t be hit until sometime in 2140. Not only will you and I not even be around by then, our grandchildren probably won’t even be, either. I appreciate taking a long view when investing but let’s be realistic.

It is true that Dogecoin’s development was stalled for two years. When Dogecoin creators Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus left the project, they apparently left the keys to the github repository to a couple of friends who neglected the project for two years. (They released an updated version of the code on March 1). But with the backing of the world’s second-richest man, this is a solvable problem.

Most of the criticisms of Dogecoin — “it’s just a clone that doesn’t offer anything new” — can also be levelled at Litecoin, and yet that project (still ranked as No. 11) doesn’t seem to garner the same scorn as the dog token.

Besides, all this technical talk misses the point.

What Dogecoin and other meme coins offer is self-expression.

Buying and holding Dogecoin expresses playfulness, a love of shiba inus, and not taking oneself too seriously.

As Galaxy Digital Research wrote in an insightful  22-page research paper, “Dogecoin has one simple purpose: to be the world’s most fun currency. … DOGE is likely to live on as long as Bitcoin lives, and as long as jokes are funny.

“It is perhaps the purest ‘gallows humor’ investment vehicle ever created, mocking a playful market with its playful indifference.”
 

Memes are powerful

It shouldn’t surprise that meme coins are surging now as Bitcoin edges ever closer to mainstream respectability.

Young ‘uns may not remember this but BTC was once an edgy cryptocurrency associated with underground drug markets. Now it looks like Goldman Sachs will be offering Bitcoin to its clients. Mainstream acceptance is making Bitcoin drab and boring … Dogecoin is silly and fun.

Bitcoin still has a few memes – like the “laser eyes for 100k” Twitter meme – but, let’s face it, Dogecoin’s memes are far superior.

In 2016, meme warfare helped get an erratic, misogynistic businessman elected president of the most powerful nation on earth over a much better-qualified candidate. You want to think about that and tell me that Dogecoin can’t flip Bitcoin?

I’m not saying it will, mind you. But Dogecoin’s market cap of US$63 billion is just 7.5 per cent that of Bitcoin’s $US844 billion. I’d say Dogecoin has a better than 1-in-13 chance of someday overtaking Bitcoin as the dominant crypto store of value — and that makes it the better investment, at least for money you’re willing to lose. (Not investment advice! DYOR!)

All of this argument applies to all the other meme coins as well. In a world where anyone can start a currency that holds some value, why won’t people gravitate to ones that express their values and sense of community? Expect to see more, not fewer.


 

2022 price target

It’s hard to make forecasts in a market as volatile and unpredictable as cryptocurrency.

But they are fun to read, make good copy and are attention-grabbing. So here goes. I say Dogecoin will still be in the crypto top 10 by April 20, 2022 — Dogecoin Day/World Cannabis Day — and will be trading for at least US$6.69. Mark my words.

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