What is Dogecoin (DOGE)?

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency derived from Litecoin. It was created by Billy Markus, a programmer from Oregon. Dogecoin’s logo features the same Shiba Inu from the Doge “meme” and is designed to be a fun cryptocurrency. It was first introduced on December 8, 2013.

Dogecoin Production Schedule and Mining Rules

Dogecoin’s initial production schedule is rather quick. By the end of 2014, there will be roughly 100 billion Dogecoins in circulation. Each subsequent year will produce 5.2 billion coins. More than 74 billion coins were mined by April 26th,  2014.

Unlike Litecoin, Dogecoin has a block time of one minute, and four hours is the difficulty retarget time. For each block, miners are given a reward of a random amount of coins. This may be zero coins, or it may be whatever the defined maximum is for that block. With each block mined, the maximum reward declines. From the 600,001 block on, the fixed reward will be 10,000.

What’s with the Dog on the Coin?

“Doge” is a fun, friendly mascot! The Shiba Inu is a Japanese breed of dog that was popularized as an online meme and it represents Dogecoin.

The use of the misspelled word “doge” to refer to a dog dates back to June 24th, 2005, when it was mentioned in an episode of Homestar Runner’s puppet show. In the episode titled “Biz Cas Fri 1”, Homestar calls Strong Bad his “d-o-g-e” while trying to distract him from his work.

On February 23rd, 2010, Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato posted several photos of her rescue-adopted Shiba Inu dog Kabosu to her personal blog. Among the photos included a peculiar shot of Kabosu sitting on a couch while glaring sideways at the camera with raised eyebrows (shown below, right).

Using Dogecoins

Dogecoin is used with a wallet on your computer, your smartphone, or a website.
You can use it to buy goods and services, or trade it for other currencies (both other cryptocurrencies or traditional currency like US dollars).

One of the most popular uses for Dogecoin is “tipping” fellow internet-goers who create or share great content. Think of it as a more meaningful “like” or upvote, with real value that can be used all across the internet.

It is very easy to start using Dogecoin.

• Step 1: Get A Wallet.
• Step 2: Get Some Dogecoin.
• Step 3: Use Your Dogecoin.
• Step 4: Stay Up-to-Date.