Dogecoin, the meme 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 high-profile proponent Elon Musk, other celebrities and incessant media coverage, Dogecoin had surged an eye-popping 17,000% in just four months in early 2021, captivating the entire investing 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 a staggering 6,943% since the start of the year, making its long-term holders part of the crypto nouveau riche.
Markus, who now frequently interacts with Musk on Twitter, claims that 2021 has been his second strangest year because of Dogecoin.
2021 was the second strangest year of my life, only eclipsed by 2013.
The year dogecoin was born.
Happy 8th birthday to you, cryptocurrency plus funny yellow dog ~ pic.twitter.com/SID1SF30z3
— Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) December 6, 2021
Palmer, however, is unlikely to celebrate the birthday of the joke cryptocurrency he co-created since the Australian programmer abandoned the community a long time ago. In a July tweet, he claimed that the crypto industry was controlled by “a powerful cartel.”