Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency that gathering attention over the past few days. Ethereum has equally seen a boost in price partly as a result of the huge market interest enjoyed by bitcoin. But today, Dogecoin, another altcoin saw its price soar by over 50% after Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, made a series of tweets about it.
Because of those tweets, interest in Dogecoin has brides sharply. If you are considering buying some of the crypto for yourself following this boom, here is all you need to know about it.
It is not as easily available as BTC
Dogecoin is not readily available like bitcoin, ethereum and some other cryptocurrencies. You can only get it with fiat currency or as an exchange for bitcoin on exchanges like eToroX, Binance, Pepperstone.
You can trade dogecoin either on the exchange or from online brokers that let you speculate on whether the price of crypto will rise or fall. If you buy or trade cryptos with a fintech app like Trove, you will not find dogecoin as one of the altcoins listed. Unlike bitcoin, litecoin, ripple and other tokens, Doge is simply not readily available.
Dogecoin can be used as a payment system
Doge is used on platforms like Reddit and Twitter to tip people while some other platforms use it as a means of payment for goods and services. Its community of users gives it a more friendly and approachable outlook compared to other cryptos.
Online platforms like HostingSSL and Park and Finch accept the token. However, no known Nigerian online store accepts dogecoin as a form of payment. This means that if you want to use the altcoin as a token, it has to be with online companies outside Nigeria or in a direct transaction with another individual who accepts dogecoin.
Its price is very low compared to other cryptocurrencies
After Elon Musk tweeted about it on Thursday morning, Dogecoin’s price jumped by 67.99% to $0.054496, according to data on blockchain and cryptocurrency website Coindesk. Musk also added #Bitcoin to his Twitter bio last week, a move which caused the price of BTC to skyrocket last week. However, Musk has since taken the #Bitcoin off his bio and now, his attention is on doge.
Data from Yahoo Finance puts the range of a dogecoin from 0.036 to 0.058 for today. Compared to ethereum which trades at $1,583.25 and bitcoin which trades at $36607.50, the price of dogecoin is very low.
However, market predictions suggest that 1 doge might reach $0.2 by 2030, nonetheless, you should conduct your own research if you want to invest in the cryptocurrency.
There is no limit to the number of dogecoins that can be in circulation
Initially, the creators of dogecoin wanted to limit the cryptocurrency to 100 billion coins. However, that plan has since been scrapped and the amount that can be in circulation is now limitless. Despite being limitless, unlike bitcoin that is capped at 21 million coins, doge has still seen a growth in acceptance and shows that cryptocurrencies do not have to be deflationary for them to be valuable.
An increasing number of stores are accepting this altcoin as a payment token. The stores include eGifter, AllGamer.net and dozens of other online stores. This is poised to keep the user community around dogecoin on a pattern of growth as people find more ways to put their token to use.
Dogecoin was created in December 2013 by Billy Markus and its total market cap currently stands at $8.2 billion, according to January 28 data from coinmarket.