DogeCoin Explained | Sidebean

0:00This episode is brought to you by Skillshare. The first thousand people to use this link will get a one-month free trial of Skillshare. Click the link in the description. This story started as a joke, but it became one of the most noticeable cryptocurrencies asked of late. From the Olympic Games to Elon Musk, Dogecoin has been everywhere. Though the humor was evident at first, many asked themselves, is it for real? Or is it still a joke? Well, when billionaires swear by it, maybe it's time to start taking it seriously. It's time to talk about Dogecoin and how a joke can change the world. Dogecoin's story begins to most people as a joke cryptocurrency. But there's more to it than humor. In 2013, Jackson Palmer and Adobe Engineer had a hobby of following the cryptocurrency craze. Take Bitcoin, for example. That year, its value went from 266 dollars, dropped to 50, 170, and by the end of the year, 140.

1:01And around that time, a Shiba Inu became the go-to meme for mispronounced knowledge on anything and everything, earning it the nickname Doge. One night, after a long day, Palmer tweeted some magic words. Investing in Dogecoin, pretty sure it's the next big thing. And boy was he right. At that moment, the tweet had some attractions that Palmer decided to buy the site Dogecoin.com and post a picture of the iconic dog with some comic-sense writing. Much wisdom, we have to say, but of course, it was a small gesture and still it was enough to reach Billy Marcus, thousands of miles away in Portland. Marcus was a softer engineer who had tried to no success to create his own cryptocurrency. So when he saw the Dogecoin.com website, he decided he should make the coin. And he tweeted at Palmer, but he started working on Dogecoin even before he got a response. He has claimed it took him three hours to develop Dogecoin. So by the time Palmer replied, all Marcus had to do was convince him that Dogecoin worked. And so, Dogecoin was born. But what was so different about it?

2:06That's why you're my DOGE! You're DOGE! What are you talking about? You're watching the believed origins of the term Doge. These few seconds would explode years later, like Dogecoin. It was only a joke, but that essence remains engraved deep into this crypto's DNA. To understand it, let's discuss how Dogecoin was born and how it differs from Bitcoin, for example. Well, first of all, Bitcoin is Satoshi Nakamoto's creation, whoever he or they are. The intention was to create the leading digital currency in a decentralized financial system, but Dogecoin had no such goals. So there are key differences. For example, let's look at security. Because Marcus created the coin so quickly, experts believe it lacks critical aspects other cryptos. Have. Then there's the source. Bitcoin is, in short, towards the OG crypto, with its blockchain-provo concept. It's an essential piece of the cryptocurrency world. Usually, developers spin off their tokens from Bitcoin. If you don't understand some of this terminology, you should definitely check our blockchain,

3:07explain it with subway cars video. So you can say that Dogecoin is Bitcoin with a dog face on it. That's not entirely accurate. Marcus has stated that all he did was take Bitcoin's coding, remove the parts where it said Bitcoin, and replace them with Dogecoin. But even that is shying from the truth. Dogecoin is actually closer to Litecoin and allows for faster mining and transactions. Dogecoin also uses a different consensus mechanism. Instead of using Bitcoin's Shot 256, it uses script technology like Litecoin. And then there's the most significant difference. Bitcoin has a finite amount of coins available on the blockchain. So it's expected that the last Bitcoin rewards will issue in the year 2140 in theory. Dogecoin used to have a limit. It started with 100 billion coins, one of the highest in the world. And after reaching it in 2015, Dogecoin went to an unlimited cap of sorts. In theory, Dogecoin will issue 5 billion coins per year from 2015 onwards. So while Bitcoin creates scarcity, Dogecoin is the opposite. And finally, there's the value.

4:08Manufacturers lead to a drastic difference between them by July 2021. One Bitcoin was worth $32,000 plus one Dogecoin had a value of about 20 cents of a dollar. Now, when in December 2013, Palmer and Marcus launched Dogecoin. They at lost control. Their creation was out of their hands and neither could predict what followed. According to a coin market cap at 842 a.m. on December 15, 2013, Dogecoin's value was 0.05 cents. And that same day at 516 p.m. that value had almost doubled to 0.09 cents. From then on, the roller coaster ride became a mainstay in Dogecoin's DNA. Between January 2014 and May 2017, the crypto oscillator between 0.009 cents to 0.15 cents. But by July 2017, Dogecoin reached a high at the time of 0.38 cents. At its highest, this crypto had everyone jumping with joy. And some quite shocked, it was fulfilling the Dogecoin community's motto to the moon.

5:08At its lowest, critics rejoiced. Insisting it was a joke. Dogecoin is sport. Meanwhile, the Dogecoin community kept going, working with charities and notable causes. For example, during the 2014 Winter Olympics, they created a fund to finance the Jamaican Bob Slid team and Shiva Kovashin. They also worked with NASCAR racing teams and water supply in Africa. So some might see it as a joke, but Dogecoin was getting serious. It was even part of the 2017 2018 crypto bubble. In January 2018, it reached a value of 1.7 cents. And it even crashed along the rest when the bubble burst in 2018. In that sense, Dogecoin was no different from other cryptocurrencies, but in late December 2020, its behavior changed. Dogecoin saw a rise in value like never before. It didn't slow until May 7th when it reached an all-time high of 73.8 cents, breaking that critical 50 cent line. But it also meant a 7,200 percent increase in value in 2021 alone. Then, two days later, dropped 43% in value.

6:08So what was behind this crazy roller coaster? Well, Dogecoin itself. It's all about the cult behind Dogecoin. 2021 has been crazy for the coin. Thanks to some big names. So naturally, every mentioned causes drastic changes in its value. And what's interesting about Dogecoin is that some news outlets to this day call it a joke coin or a meme coin. But it's in the top 10 of CoinMarketCap. Plus, those big names are huge. Mark Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks and he's no stranger to the spotlight. In March 2021, he announced that the team admitted Dogecoin for tickets and merchandise. And his reasoning? Because we can. Now, this isn't new for the Mavericks. They have accepted Bitcoins since 2019. Another team to Sacramento Kings do so since 2014. But that was Bitcoin, not this joke Dogecoin. But basketball is no match to a boost from another billionaire. Of course, we're talking about Elon Musk. Musk is no stranger to controversy or naming his kids with mathematical equations. But he also has an intensive fair with Dogecoin.

7:09He nicknamed himself the Dogefather. He says, in an L comments, shook the crypto world. Plus, he once tweeted, Dogecoin is the people's cryptocurrency. So when he speaks, people listen with Dogecoin. It's no different. Every time he mentions any crypto, the market has to brace itself. Musk has been unpredictable, but mostly on the positive side, mostly. Once he took to Reddit to ask users how to improve the joke. Coin and Dogecoin went up 10%. But those SNL comments caused the value to drop 30%. In July 2021, Musk and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey announced a live conversation for cryptocurrency platform immediately. The world brazed for impact because nothing was off limits. In the meeting, he suggested using Ethereum and Dogecoin for lower costs and faster transactions. So the value went up. And so on. To a degree, that's what Dogecoin is all about. It's irreverent when other cryptocurrencies want to be serious. And what's ironic? Well, the world does take it seriously. So Dogecoin began as a joke and for a long time, it was. But as we venture further into the future,

8:11more and more people have stopped laughing and putting money into it. And who knows? Perhaps it will reach the moon. Now all this might feel overwhelming, but you don't have to feel like it's impossible to learn cryptocurrencies. And that's where Skillshare comes in. Skillshare offers thousands of inspiring classes for creative and curious people on topics like illustration and design, photography, video, freelancing, and yes, cryptocurrency. So check out this video by Meltem Demiro's called the mystifying cryptocurrency. It's a straightforward class on what cryptocurrency is, how it works, and where it's going next. Click the link in the description for a free one month trial on Skillshare. And don't forget to hit that subscribe button. We'll see you next week.