February 5, 2021, was a fateful day for Glober Contissoto, a young American in his thirties who works for a music production company in bustling Los Angeles.
On this day, Contesuto decided to take a suicidal move that all his friends had warned him about, which is to invest all his savings of $ 180,000, not in buying stocks or bonds on the stock exchange, or investing in real estate or any common investment activity, but rather investing in the purchase of a digital currency. It was little known at the time as Dogecoin.
The price of the Dogecoin digital currency that Contesuto bought at this time was 4.5 cents.
But after only two months, and specifically after 69 days, the price of the currency rose by 400%, to reach its price of 45 cents, which made Glober Contissoto come out in a video on YouTube announcing that in only 69 days he became a millionaire, and that his fortune during this short period reached the ceiling of two million dollars Up from an investment of only $ 180,000.
Contesuto says that his investment transferred him to the club of millionaires at a speed that he could not imagine, and that what he achieved is still just the beginning of his investment in the digital currency that everyone is talking about, and that he will continue to invest in it after it has become the most prominent example of the skyrocketing growth of the value of this digital currency. In record time.
(1, 2)
At first glance, with numbers like these, the whole story sounds like a joke, and maybe a silly joke as well.
But the most surprising thing is that the reality says that it all started - indeed - with a joke, and then the banter turned into one of the most massive billionaires investments in the world now.
In 2013, there was no voice in the financial and business world louder than the voice of digital currencies, those virtual currencies that began to appear in the world shyly - at that time of course -, and everyone was divided around them between anticipating, cautious and hasty, although their value at that time was modest Very generally, but it was clear that the rise of these currencies would change the shape of financial transactions in the world forever, which actually happened within a few years.
And like anything other people take seriously, someone has to emerge from somewhere to tackle this seriousness with sarcasm. This is what software engineers Billy Marcus, who used to work at IBM, and Jackson Palmer, who used to do at Adobe, did. In fact, they did not meet on the ground, but they agreed to launch a "cynical" virtual currency with the aim of reducing Bitcoin and other digital currencies that had begun to appear in that period.
What happened is that in 2013, there was a very popular "meme" of the image of a cute dog of the type "Shiba Inu" called "Doge", and it was used profusely for sarcastic commentary on any events of any kind, sleep. Eating, food, pronunciation, space discoveries and more. This meme was picked up by engineer Jackson Palmer - who was following news of cryptocurrencies - and saw that it turned it into a joke compatible with the rise of digital currencies, so he posted a tweet on Twitter saying: "Invest in Dogecoin, sure it will be the next big thing!"
One week later, even though there was no cryptocurrency in that name in the first place, and with comments in favor of his satirical tweet spreading, Palmer bought a domain called "Dogecoin.com" that was hugely popular on the Reddit community (a large global discussion forum dedicated to discussions). e).
Later, Palmer contacted his partner Billy Marcus - an engineer at "IBM" - who had already launched a previous personal project to launch a digital currency, but the project was not completed and was not forthcoming.
So, Billy saw that he share his currency with Palmer as a kind of participation in a "celebration of irony".
The two partners met, the first through a mocking idea and the second by contributing to his programming for a digital currency, and the mock Dogecoin - pronounced “Doje Coin” in the thirsty gym - was launched with its logo that bears the famous dog face, in December The first of 2013. (3, 4)
After the launch of the virtual currency in 2013, the Reddit community had the greatest impact on the spread of the currency and its limited use, so that, according to Business Insider, the community was credited with creating a market for trading Dogecoin, whose value reached 8 million dollars, with use. The broad currency in the form of an online "tip" tool that users give to each other in exchange for some activities, such as sharing good ideas or creating a good platform, and others.
Or as Palmer himself put it: "Something with which we say thank you, or a nice gift."
During 2014, the currency of "Dogecoin" increased significantly as a gift currency of modest value, and spread widely, to the point that the founders of the currency were surprised in the summer of 2014 with large advertising banners announcing the digital currency in various places, and they - the founders - were describing this. Spreading madness and unreality.
And by the advent of 2015, Jackson Palmer - the idea owner and founder of the coin - announced that he had decided to withdraw from the entire cryptocurrency community, followed by his partner Billy Marcus, who sold his holdings of all Dogecoin in 2015 for a small amount to buy a used Honda Civic!
(5, 3, 4)
In the following years, specifically in 2017 until early 2018, Dogecoin was gradually increasing its value, reaching $ 0.017, bringing the market capitalization (the value of the digital currency according to its shares) to $ 2 billion.
With the gradual growth that the virtual currency has achieved over time, suddenly in April of 2019 what appears to be a minor event occurred that radically changed the landscape.
A short tweet written by the famous billionaire entrepreneur, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, in which he said: "Dogecoin might be my favorite digital currency, it's very nice!"
Dogecoin might be my fav cryptocurrency.
It's pretty cool.
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2019
With the advent of 2020, the matter began to take a more serious turn, when Musk published his famous tweet in July 2020 that shows a desert storm in the forefront of which is the famous dog head of the Dogecoin coin sweeping the "global financial system", commenting on the picture as: "Inevitably coming", It is the tweet that attracted millions of people around the world to confirm Elon Musk's support for the controversial digital currency.
At the same time, a "Trend" appeared on the "TikTok" short video network calling for an increase in the value of the "Dogecoin" currency to reach one dollar for each currency.
It's inevitable pic.twitter.com/eBKnQm6QyF
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2020
And when 2021 arrived, things were taking a turn to say the least.
In January 2021, the price of Dogecoin rose by 800% once after it was widely traded by users on the Reddit platform.
By February, Dogecoin had reached $ 0.08 after a number of celebrities announced their use of it, led by Elon Musk, Snoop Dogg and Jane Simmons.
In March, Mark Cuban, one of America's leading businessmen, announced that fans of his soccer club could buy their tickets with Dogecoin, after Elon Musk announced the same month that Tesla electric cars could be purchased through The controversial digital currency that he declared his support for.
(3, 4, 6)
SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year
- Mission paid for in Doge
- 1st crypto in space
- 1st meme in space
To the mooooonnn !! https: //t.co/xXfjGZVeUW
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2021
In April, it was announced that Dogecoin, along with other cryptocurrencies, was listed on the Coinbase exchange, causing its value to rise by 400% within one week, with a massive trading volume of about $ 70 billion within 24 hours. , Which led to the jump in the market value of the currency to 50 billion dollars, and its rise to occupy the fifth place in the list of the most valuable digital currencies.
By the coming of May, specifically on the fourth of the month, it was announced that the Dogecoin currency reached a value of $ 0.50, which means an increase of 20.000% of its value.
These crazy highs pushed the whole world to wait for billionaire Elon Musk to appear on "Saturday Night Live", talking about "Dogecoin", saying that it is a currency full of clamor, and he advised everyone to deal in the currency but "cautiously", which led to a temporary decline and then a return to the rise. In the currency value after his statement.
Musk later announced that his company, SpaceX, had accepted the launch of a new space mission to the moon, called "DOG-1," and that it would be fully funded by the Dogecoin currency, saying that his company would literally place Dogecoin on the surface of the moon. 13)
In mid-May, Elon Musk announced again his controversial decision, which was seen as another forward payment for his favorite currency, Dogecoin, confirming that his electric car company, Tesla, will stop buying its units in Bitcoin - the digital currency that leads the competition. - Because of "environmental concerns related to the Bitcoin mining process, which uses fossil fuels, especially coal, which produces harmful emissions for the environment."
(7)
This announcement caused a temporary decrease in the value of Bitcoin in the digital currency market and an increase in the value of Dogecoin in return, especially after Musk released a subsequent tweet in which he clearly said that he is working with Dogecoin developers to improve the system's efficiency in transactions.
(8)
As of this writing, the Bitcoin unit is valued at $ 50,000 on average, while the Dogecoin is valued at $ 0.5.
A vast difference, without a doubt, between the two units, but this intense focus by investors and business leaders on supporting the Dogecoin unit in particular raises a logical question: Does this unit have competitive capabilities that are really important to the digital currency giant "Bitcoin"?
Far from getting absorbed in the technical and technical details, it can be noted several differences between the two units that make Dogecoin have an escalating competitive position against Bitcoin, on top of which is speed.
Dogecoin is quickly and easily mined and traded compared to Bitcoin.While it takes about ten minutes to produce a new unit for inclusion in the Bitcoin blockchain, the Dogecoin blockchain needs only one minute to produce the unit.
Second, Bitcoin production is previously defined by the so-called "Lifetime Cap", which means that the final number of coins in circulation cannot exceed 21 million coins.
In other words, the maximum possible number of Bitcoins to be produced is 21 million coins, based on many technical and technical reasons.
This means that, over time, the difficulty of mining Bitcoin increases, the number of currencies that those working on mining get as reward for them increases, and the difficulty of obtaining them increases with the increase in their value.
This matter does not exist in "Dogecoin", where an infinite number of them can be produced, estimated at millions of new units that are pumped into the market daily, which means a large trading movement with no limit to the ceiling with the increase or decrease in their value.
(9)
"People talk about Dogecoin going to $ 1, and that would make Dogecoin's market value greater than actual companies providing services to millions, such as Boeing and Starbucks. Does Dogecoin deserve that? This is not something I can understand, let alone explain."
(Billy Marcus, founder of Dogecoin)
At the moment of writing these lines, the market value of Dogecoin has reached between 60 and 70 billion dollars, which is a market value that exceeds the value of truly giant global companies.
With a number like this, and with the high demand for circulation in the currency, and with the support of giant businessmen the size of Elon Musk for the virtual currency that bears the cute face of the dog, all indications say that this currency is achieving real growth, not fake growth as it was seen over the previous years.
But the matter is not without caution. According to the statements of Elon Musk himself, whose name has become almost associated with the name "Dogecoin", investing in this currency should be a "cautious" investment, and it should be through the use of financial surpluses and not savings or basic funds.
There are other caveats that should be noted about the "Dogecoin" currency, in the forefront of which is that it is mined without end or a certain ceiling, which makes its value slowly grow due to the intensity of mining and production.
Add to that the fact that it is always associated with a sarcastic meme made primarily for the sake of humor is also one of the things that infuriates some, especially when it turns into a financial investment.
The most important caveat that complicates trading in Dogecoin is that it is considered a currency subject to what is called “pumping and dumps” in the world of trading, which means that the value of the currency may rise and fall at the hands of a group of activists in the Reddit community. At any time, which is what actually happened when they had the first credit in activating, activating and growing this currency in recent years.
(11)
In the end, it can be said that the best thing that is said about Dogecoin at this stage is what Logan Ross, a blockchain expert, said in an article entitled "Is Dogecoin a good investment?", Where he emphasized that investing in Dogecoin should not be an investment with the aim of making money. Quickly - and if this happens repeatedly from time to time - as much as it is an investment in the principle of joining the "big thing coming" that may change the scene in the future, a future that seems to celebrate digital currencies more than everyone expected.
(12)
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Sources
This 33-year-old invested his savings in the meme cryptocurrency with inspiration from Elon Musk
This 'dogecoin millionaire' refuses to sell and bought during the dip - now his stash is worth $ 2 million
The history of Dogecoin
What is dogecoin?
Dogecoin: The origin story of the Elon Musk supported cryptocurrency
Dogecoin
Tesla stops accepting Bitcoin as payment for its cars.
elon musk tweet
An Introduction to Dogecoin, The Meme Cryptocurrency
Dogecoin Founder Speaks Out After DOGE Price Surge - He's Not Impressed
What are the pros and cons of dogecoin?
Is dogecoin a good investment?
Elon Musk to launch SpaceX 'Doge-1' mission paid for in dogecoin