Since 6 December 2013
How a joke became a cryptocurrency
Dogecoin began as a parody built in a few hours around a picture of a dog. This is the story of what happened next, and a short guide to how cryptocurrencies work.
History
The Dogecoin timeline
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2010
A photo of a dog
Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Satō photographs her Shiba Inu, Kabosu, glancing sideways from a sofa. Three years later the picture spreads across the internet as the "Doge" meme.
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November 2013
A joke tweet
Jackson Palmer, who works at Adobe in Sydney, jokes on Twitter that Dogecoin is "the next big thing" and sets up dogecoin.com as a parody of the cryptocurrency hype.
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6 December 2013
Dogecoin launches
Billy Markus, a software engineer at IBM in Portland, sees the site and builds the coin for real. He bases it on the existing Luckycoin and Litecoin software.
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25 December 2013
The Dogewallet hack
Millions of coins are stolen from the online wallet service Dogewallet. The community responds with "SaveDogemas", and within about a month donations cover what was lost.
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January 2014
A bobsled team goes to the Olympics
Dogecoin users raise more than $30,000 in two days to help the Jamaican bobsled team travel to the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
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February 2014
The supply cap is dropped
Dogecoin was planned with a limit of 100 billion coins. Palmer announces the limit will not be added, so about 5 billion new coins are created every year.
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2014
Doge4Water
More than 4,000 donors give over $30,000 in Dogecoin to fund a well in Kenya, together with the charity Charity: water.
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May 2014
A Dogecoin car races at Talladega
Reddit users raise 67.8 million Dogecoin, about $55,000, to sponsor NASCAR driver Josh Wise. His car races with the Shiba Inu on its hood.
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2015
A founder walks away
Jackson Palmer leaves the cryptocurrency community. In the middle of the year, the 100 billionth Dogecoin is mined.
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January 2021
A sudden surge
After years of quiet, Dogecoin rises by more than 800% in 24 hours as social media users pile in.
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May 2021
The peak, and the drop
The price passes 50 US cents and the coin's total market value tops $85 billion. On 8 May, Elon Musk hosts Saturday Night Live and jokes that Dogecoin is "a hustle". The price falls by nearly 30% during the show.
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9 May 2021
A mission to the Moon is announced
SpaceX announces DOGE-1, a small satellite mission paid for in Dogecoin. The mission was later delayed.
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August 2021
The Dogecoin Foundation returns
The non-profit foundation is re-established. Its advisers include Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Jared Birchall, representing Elon Musk.
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December 2021
Tesla merchandise
Elon Musk says Tesla will accept Dogecoin as payment for some merchandise.
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24 May 2024
Goodbye, Kabosu
Kabosu, the dog whose photo started it all, dies peacefully in Japan. Her owner estimated her age at 18.
Key facts
Dogecoin at a glance
- Created by
- Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer
- Launched
- 6 December 2013
- Built on
- Luckycoin and Litecoin software
- How blocks are added
- Proof of work (mining), using Scrypt
- New block
- About every minute
- Reward per block
- 10,000 Dogecoin
- Supply
- No cap. About 5 billion new coins a year
- Mascot
- Kabosu, a Shiba Inu from Japan
What makes it different from Bitcoin?
Bitcoin's supply is capped at 21 million coins, and a new block arrives about every ten minutes. Dogecoin has no cap and adds a block about every minute, so new coins keep entering circulation at a steady rate. It was designed to be fun and easy to send in small amounts, which is why it became popular for tipping and fundraising.
How crypto works
The short version
Dogecoin works on the same basic principles as other cryptocurrencies.
- 1
A shared record
Every transaction is written to a public ledger called a blockchain. Thousands of computers hold a copy, so no bank or company controls it.
- 2
Keys instead of accounts
You prove coins are yours with a private key, a secret number kept in a wallet. Whoever has the key can spend the coins.
- 3
Blocks, linked together
Transactions are bundled into blocks. Each block contains a fingerprint of the one before it, so changing old records would break the chain.
- 4
Miners add the blocks
On Dogecoin, computers called miners compete to solve a puzzle. The winner adds the next block and receives newly created coins.
Further reading
News stories and sources
News reports and sources behind the timeline. These links open other websites.
- The History of Dogecoin The project's own account of its origins
- Jamaican bobsled team raises $30,000 in Dogecoin for trip to Sochi News report on the Dogesled fundraiser
- How Cryptocurrency, Crowdfunding And A Little Internet Altruism Saved Jamaica's Hopes For Bobsled Gold The fuller story behind the bobsled campaign
- Dogecoin in NASCAR: When a Speedy Shiba Inu Stormed Talladega A look back at the 2014 Josh Wise sponsorship
- Dogecoin plunges nearly 30 percent during Elon Musk's 'Saturday Night Live' appearance News report on the May 2021 price drop
- Kabosu, Shiba Inu behind 'doge' meme and face of Dogecoin, has died News report on Kabosu's death
- Dogecoin A sourced overview, with references to follow up
A word of caution
What the history shows
Dogecoin's story is entertaining, and it is also a record of how fast things can change.
- Prices can swing wildlyDogecoin rose more than 800% in a day in 2021, and fell by nearly 30% in a single evening that May.
- Hype is not informationMuch of the 2021 movement followed jokes and social media posts, not changes to the technology.
- Theft and scams are realThe 2013 Dogewallet hack happened within weeks of launch. Anyone promising guaranteed returns is a warning sign.