DOGE at 12: Creator Reveals How the Iconic Memecoin Began

Dogecoin (DOGE), the king of memecoins, has turned 12, as it debuted in the cryptocurrency space on December 6, 2013. To mark the anniversary, Billy Markus, known as Shibetoshi Nakamoto on X, has taken to the platform to celebrate the milestone and his followers.

Markus also gave a hint into how the first memecoin started in the early days.

From Meme to a $22 Billion Market Giant

Notably, Markus explained that the creation of Dogecoin started as a joke or “something stupid.” This suggests that the Dogecoin creator might not have expected the project to be this successful, as it is arguably the first memecoin in the crypto sector.

Although he might not have given much thought to the memecoin, over the last 12 years, DOGE has gained traction and is the leading memecoin. With a market capitalization of $22.48 billion, Dogecoin is ranked 9th on the list of top assets by market capitalization.

The numbers indicate that Dogecoin has made a success out of what started off as a joke, according to Markus. His cofounder, Jackson Palmer, had bought a domain name, Dogecoin.com, and started it off with a basic design of the coin’s logo and Comic Sans text. Eventually, a currency was developed after some efforts, which included designing Dogecoin’s protocol.

The use of the Japanese dog breed, Shiba Inu, which was a popular meme at the time, likely contributed to its wide acceptance in the crypto community.

Markus Acknowledges Dogecoin’s Growing Influence

Besides acknowledging the 12-year journey so far, Markus also acknowledged his 2.26 million followers on the social media platform.

“12 years ago I made something stupid, and then a bunch of even stupider stuff happened, and now I am posting about it on the internet to 2.15 million followers…oh, 2.26 million followers, apologies to the 110k I initially missed, you are all special too”, he wrote.

The Dogecoin founder, known for his sarcasm, is likely referring to the global recognition that DOGE gained, which helped in attracting notable personalities. Tech entrepreneur and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, is one of the celebrities who support memecoin.

Dogecoin Battles Volatility Despite Bullish Prediction

As of this writing, Dogecoin is battling volatility and exchanges hands at $0.1393, which represents a 0.28% decline in the last 24 hours. The memecoin dropped from a daily high of $0.1408 to the current level.

DOGE has also recorded a plunge in trading volume by 49.45% to $569.57 million, an indication of low engagement from holders. Despite this bearish outlook, analysts are betting on DOGE to rebound.