Dogecoin (DOGE) was created as a lighthearted alternative to traditional crypto assets like Bitcoin in 2013. No one could have predicted that the dog-meme-inspired crypto asset would become one of the market's most widely used crypto assets today. 

Dogecoin’s native crypto asset, DOGE, is used to pay transaction fees and send value across the Internet.

How did Dogecoin come to be?

Believe it or not, Dogecoin's existence all began with a simple tweet. An Australian software engineer, Jackson Palmer, decided to tweet that Dogecoin, a fictional coin combining a trending dog meme, would one day rival Bitcoin. The tweet inevitably got picked up on Reddit, a hotbed of crypto activity, and just like that, the Dogecoin revolution began. 

During this time, Jackson Palmer, together with US software engineer Billy Markus, began to reconfigure Bitcoin’s source code and turn it into a faster and cheaper version used primarily for online transactions. High transaction fees and the lack of ability to tip have long been an issue for crypto assets wanting to become a global currency. 

Dogecoin addressed these issues and soon found its niche as the ‘tipping’ currency of the online world. The Internet practice of tipping is the ability to repay people on the web for performing "good deeds," like sharing an idea or making a platform more accessible.

How does it work? 

Although Dogecoin shares some similarities with Bitcoin, there are also significant differences between the two. 

Firstly, unlike Bitcoin's 21 million token hard cap supply, Dogecoin does not have a strict supply limit; however, it does restrict the amount of DOGE that can be issued (created) annually. This restriction has been set at 5 billion tokens per year. 

Secondly, while an iteration of Bitcoins technology, Dogecoin decided to use the same mining algorithm as Litecoin, allowing its blockchain to process a new block of transactions faster than Bitcoin and at a much lower cost. 

What makes Dogecoin unique? 

1. Scalability and low fees

Being a fork of Litecoin, Dogecoin was able to make a crypto asset that was secure and very easy to transact. Dogecoin costs less than $0.05 per transaction and handles over 30 transactions per second. For reference, this costs 20X less than Bitcoin and is 5X faster. 

2. Most popular tipping crypto asset

Dogecoin solves one of the fundamental issues crypto assets have faced, the ability to tip at ultra-low costs. By solving this, Dogecoin has become the most popular crypto asset for tipping across social media platforms in the history of crypto - accounting for more tipping transaction volume than all other crypto assets combined.

3. A growing community of holders

Dogecoin has a growing community of holders and supporters. One of the primary reasons for this rising community support is that its investors use it as an absolute value. Dogecoin is one of the most used crypto assets and is ranked within the Top 10 crypto assets based on active wallet addresses. This puts it alongside XRP and Cardano.

4. One of the most secure blockchains 

Dogecoin’s blockchain structure is similar to that of Bitcoin and Litcoin. This structure makes it one of the Top 5 most secure blockchains in crypto. 

Where do I buy Dogecoin?

Cape Town based crypto investment platform Altify, which is backed by JSE listed Sabvest, is adding Dogecoin to its crypto asset product offering on Thursday, the 6th of September.

Altify brings simplicity, trust and excellent customer service to investing in cryptocurrencies. Its easy-to-use online platform enables you to securely own the world’s top cryptocurrencies in just a few clicks. 

Invest in Dogecoin here and start your journey with as little as R150.