The original meme coin has turned eight
Dogecoin, the coin that started it all, has already turned eight, becoming a major player in the crypto industry.
In May, the joke cryptocurrency, which was launched by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer on Dec. 6, 2013, to ridicule altcoins, was worth over $90 billion in early May after experiencing a massive rally.
With the help of leading promoter Elon Musk, other celebrities and relentless media coverage, Dogecoin had climbed 17,000% in just four months at the start of 2021, captivating the entire investment community.
The Bitcoin parody has also inspired a whole bunch of copycats, with Ethereum-based Shiba Inu becoming its most prominent knock-off and stealing the top dog’s luster in October.
Dogecoin is down 76.1% from its all-time high, but it is still up 6.943% year-to-date, making its long-term holders part of the nouveau riche crypto.
Markus, who now frequently interacts with Musk on Twitter, claims that 2021 has been his second strangest year because of Dogecoin.
Palmer, however, is unlikely to celebrate the anniversary of the cryptocurrency joke he has co-created since the Australian programmer left the community long ago. In a July tweet, he claimed that the crypto industry was controlled by “a powerful cartel.”
