Is Dogecoin Dead in 2024? The Future Potential of DOGE
Arguably, Dogecoin is the original meme coin—certainly the first to become a household name. But can a cryptocurrency that started as a joke carry on after more than a decade? Is Dogecoin dead, or will the big dog of meme coins persevere? In this guide, we’ll explore the question and examine both bull and bear arguments for the dog-themed crypto that launched the meme-coin craze.
Since Dogecoin’s launch in 2013, a growing pack of similarly themed coins and tokens has launched, including Shiba Inu, which is now a top-20 cryptocurrency by market capitalization. We’ll also look at other Dogecoin alternatives that could one day unseat DOGE as the leader of the meme coin pack.
What is Dogecoin?
Dogecoin is a proof-of-work cryptocurrency that launched in 2013. The project began as a fork of Luckycoin, which was a fork of Litecoin, a crypto that forked from Bitcoin’s code in 2011. DOGE is best known for its mascot, an impish Shiba Inu breed dog that looks like it knows a secret. While the doge meme and the Dogecoin project attracted a loyal following in the crypto community, occasional mentions by Elon Musk also helped to keep the coin in the spotlight.
With its roundabout Bitcoin roots, Dogecoin shares several similarities with Bitcoin, such as using proof of work as its consensus mechanism. However, several stark differences to Bitcoin make Dogecoin more than just a fork of a Bitcoin fork.
The most impactful of these differentiators center on faster, low-cost transactions, typically costing just a fraction of a penny, and Dogecoin’s unlimited supply. At press time, DOGE has a circulating supply of nearly 144 billion coins, a figure that grows by five billion coins each year. In contrast, Bitcoin’s total supply is fixed at 21 million, with less than 20 million bitcoins currently in circulation.
Similar to Bitcoin, Dogecoin benefited from a fair launch. That means there was no pre-mine, and venture capitalists didn’t receive towering stacks of coins in exchange for funding to build an ambitious blockchain. Instead, the project’s creators, Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, made Dogecoin in about two hours. The project began as a way to poke fun at the speculative crypto craze at the time.
The following years saw Dogecoin rise to a top-ten crypto by market capitalization. But is the run over? Is DOGE dead? Let’s explore the history of DOGE and what may lie ahead for the irreverent crypto project.
Summary: Is Dogecoin Dead in 2024?
No, Dogecoin is not dead in 2024. DOGE doubled in price between the beginning of 2024 and late March.
However, it’s important to view prices in context. Relative to DOGE’s all-time high of over $0.70, the early 2024 runup with a trading range between $0.09 and $0.18 seems less impressive. Could DOGE approach the all-time highs again? We have a long way to go, but there may be room for more upside as the meme coin bull run gets underway.
Dreams of new all-time highs aside, DOGE remains a popular coin for short-term trading. High liquidity on leading exchanges and short-term volatility make Dogecoin a crypto day trading favorite.
A Brief Dogecoin Price History
Dogecoin’s relatively low price per coin makes it easy to underestimate the runs DOGE has had throughout its decade-plus lifetime. After launching at a value of $0.00, the world’s favorite dog coin quickly rocketed to $0.0002, reaching ten times that value in the first two weeks following launch. However, those lofty sub-penny prices wouldn’t last. By 2015, DOGE had fallen to $0.000869, well below its price in the first weeks.
- 2013 -2016 ($0.00 to $0.0023): While DOGE saw a spike in price and growing buzz following launch, prices in the first three years centered on sub-penny values with three leading zeros.
- 2017 ($0.0002 to $0.0030: Dogecoin rose dramatically from its lows of about $0.0002, jumping to $0.003 by mid-year, a 15x gain. Although by comparison to what was to come, the move seems barely noticeable.
- 2018 ($0.01): To ring in the new year, DOGE finally reached a penny before losing 80% of its value later in the year.
- 2021 ($0.74): Dogecoin’s price remained largely unchanged until 2021 when the crypto market as a whole caught fire. DOGE catapulted from a sub-penny coin to more than 70 cents per dogecoin. At one point, Dogecoin had a total market cap of over $39 billion. By December of the same year, prices slid to $0.17, again following the rest of the market.
- 2022 – 2023: ($0.06 – $0.09): The crypto bear market brought DOGE back under ten cents per coin, trading in a range well below its highs of 2021.
- 2024 ($0.07 – $0.18): As the cryptocurrency market staged a comeback in 2024, DOGE rose to the occasion, more than doubling in price from the beginning of the year through the first quarter.
Current State of Dogecoin in 2024
While DOGE has recovered from its lows of 2022 through 2023, 2024’s continued uptrend remains uncertain. After reaching a short-term high in early March with few pullbacks, DOGE volatility returned.
What happens next could be influenced by the broad market. Coinbase’s planned DOGE futures market could also help propel Dogecoin to new short-term heights as renewed interest prompts investors to top-up holdings. Many expert opinions attribute the current spike to the Coinbase news.
However, it remains to be seen whether Dogecoin can fully recover. To reach its all-time high again would require a 4x gain from March’s high water mark. This might be a tall order given the growing competition of meme coins and DOGE’s inflationary tokenomics. On the other hand, it’s tough to find an altcoin with as loyal an internet following and as storied a history as Dogecoin in the entire cryptocurrency market.
Let’s explore the bull and bear arguments for DOGE going forward.
The Bull Argument: Why Dogecoin Will Recover
Several factors could contribute to Dogecoin’s recovery. 2024 could mark the beginning of a meme-coin bull run similar to the end of 2020 into 2021. During that time period, DOGE minted millionaires out of those who held their previously sub-penny positions as the coin reached more than 70 cents.
Speculation has already begun as to whether DOGE can reach $1 this time — and perhaps beyond. A new meme-coin bull run could push DOGE and similar coins into the stratosphere.
Doge also has the advantage of low transaction costs, and the occasional mention by Elon Musk often lifts DOGE out of a short-term slump.
Meme Coin Bull Run
Memecoins have been on fire since the beginning of 2024, but DOGE has underperformed tokens like SHIB, PEPE, and FLOKI. However, DOGE is more accessible than these other assets due to its wide availability on major crypto exchanges.
A rising tide lifts all boats, and DOGE could benefit from the meme-coin madness that began in the first quarter of 2024, especially if this leads to altcoin season. Also, as traders make profits from the latest meme coins, some of that capital could make its way to DOGE.
Low Transaction Fees
At a fraction of a penny, Dogecoin offers some of the lowest transaction fees in the crypto space. With well-known chains like Bitcoin and Ethereum pricing transactions in dollars, Doge is more wallet-friendly for everyday use.
Support from High-Profile Figures
Dogecoin enjoys the affection of Elon Musk, who, with a few words, can send the market higher. In a recent video on X from Mar 13, 2024, Musk suggested that Tesla should start accepting dogecoins for payment when purchasing a vehicle. Tesla already accepts $DOGE for payment when buying certain Tesla merchandise items.
During the day following Musk’s off-the-cuff remark, DOGE pumped as much as 5%. Few, if any, other meme coins have the star power support backing DOGE.
The Bear Argument: Why Dogecoin is Dead
Of course, not everyone thinks Dogecoin’s future is bright. Between inflation and lackluster performance against other dog meme coins, it’s not difficult to build a bear case for DOGE.
In addition, after more than a decade, Dogecoin is still looking for a solid use case. Daily transaction volume fell from as high as 125,000 daily transactions immediately following launch to less than 18,000 daily transactions by mid-2021, according to Statista.
Unlimited Supply
Perhaps the strongest headwind for Dogecoin is its inflation. In context, Dogecoin’s inflation rate of five billion coins annually makes it a shrinking inflation rate relative to the overall supply. However, five billion new coins issued each year is still a lot for the market to digest, particularly with other options available.
As the supply grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to reach or exceed previous all-time highs simply due to the supply-demand dynamics.
Lack of Fundamental Use
Despite Elon’s helping hand in accepting DOGE for payment for Tesla merchandise, Dogecoin often seems like a less-than-perfect store of value and medium of exchange. Relatively few retailers accept DOGE, and how many Telsa hats or T-shirts does it take to make a viable market for Dogecoin?
A dearth of real-world use cases compared to more stable stores of value like BTC or ETH makes the price of DOGE highly dependent on market sentiment and speculation. This is important to factor in when deciding whether to not to invest in Dogecoin.
Better Meme Coin Alternatives
Meme coin traders have more choices than ever, many of which have adopted Doge’s Shiba Inu in various forms as their own mascot. Other meme coins, such as PEPE, have outperformed DOGE dramatically since the start of the year. The growing popularity of other meme coins could work against DOGE, not just leaving it behind in performance gains — but possibly also pulling capital from DOGE investments to chase more promising returns.
In addition, some up-and-coming meme coins bring additional benefits, such as staking rewards. By contrast, Dogecoin doesn’t earn a yield outside of lending pools.
- Dogecoin20 (DOGE20)
- Slothana (SLOTH)
- Sponge V2 (SPONGEV2)
- Smog (SMOG)
- Poodl Inu (POODL)
- Golden Inu (GOLDEN)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Shiba Inu (SHIB)
- Bonk (BONK)
- Solama (SOLAMA)
Newer tokens like Bonk and Dogecoin20 don’t carry DOGE’s proof-of-work electricity-burning baggage, offering a more planet-friendly way to trade meme coins.
Conclusion – Is Dogecoin Dead?
Dogecoin isn’t dead just yet. The time-tested dog coin is still solidly ranked in the top ten cryptocurrencies. However, projects like Shiba Inu also enjoy massive liquidity and trading volume, with SHIB being a top-20 coin. Newer arrivals like BONK and FLOKI have massively outperformed DOGE in the short term, which fuels doubt that DOGE can maintain its leading market cap position while also adding five billion coins per year.
Pre-launch tokens like Dogecoin20 provide a chance to get in on new meme coins before the runup and staking rewards to help offset market volatility. However, there are no guarantees, and there might never be another coin that matches Dogecoin’s long-term performance from $0.00 to over $0.73 per coin.
FAQs
Is Dogecoin dead?
No. Dogecoin isn’t dead yet. In the first quarter of 2024, DOGE surged by 100%, proving DOGE can still move dramatically and remains a viable trading asset.
Is there a future for Dogecoin?
DOGE remains popular with a loyal investor following and the support of well-known figures like Elon Musk. However, despite its top-ten market cap, Dogecoin still has challenges. Dogecoin is inflationary, with 5 billion new $DOGE issued per year, which can make it less attractive compared to fixed-supply coins.
Will DOGE ever recover?
With several new meme coins outperforming DOGE in gains, it’s difficult to know if Dogecoin will retain its place in the crypto space or if the price will recover to all-time highs. Litecoin, once a top crypto, slipped beyond the top 20 in regard to market cap. A similar fate could be in store for DOGE. However, DOGE retains a more loyal following compared to many other crypto assets.
Should I buy Dogecoin or Shiba Inu?
Whether you buy DOGE or SHIB may depend on your investment goals. SHIB has outperformed DOGE in the past few months and is building an ecosystem around the SHIB token, which includes a blockchain called Shibarium. By contrast, Doge is a proof-of-work coin without any additional infrastructure.
Is DOGE the best meme coin to buy?
In terms of gains, several other meme coins have outperformed DOGE in recent months, including BONK. PEPE, SHIB, and FLOKI. Newcomers like Dogecoin20 offer an alternative to the older Shiba Inu-themed meme coins as well. However, the future of some of these meme coins remains uncertain. When the hype passes, some may trend toward zero. DOGE has more than a decade of history and maintains a loyal following despite its lower short-term gains by comparison.
References
- ‘I made doge in like two hours’ (finance.yahoo.com)
- Dogecoin market cap 2013-2023 (statista.com)
- Elon Musk at Giga Berlin today (twitter.com)
- Dogecoin (tesla.com)
- Number of Dogecoin transactions per day (statista.com)
About the Author
Michael Graw 
Eliman Dambell 
