How did Doge become a meme?

The rise of Doge as a meme and cryptocurrency was quite a unique journey. The origin of the Doge meme can be traced to an image of a Shiba Inu dog with a distinctive, humorous facial expression, coupled with multicolored Comic Sans text of the dog’s internal monologue. This image gained traction on social media and various forums 1.

Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency, was created as a joke by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus. Initially, it leveraged this popular meme to bring a friendly face and a light-hearted approach to the cryptocurrency world, contrasting sharply with the more serious and sometimes illicit-related stigma surrounding Bitcoin. Palmer tweeted about investing in Dogecoin as a whimsical comment, which unexpectedly caught on and led to the creation of a website, Dogecoin.com, around which a community quickly formed 2 3.

The actual mechanics and community practices also contributed significantly to its popularity. For example, Dogecoin's large supply (100 billion coins available) made it seem more accessible and fun, leading to its use in online tipping and fundraising for various causes, like helping the Jamaican bobsled team attend the Winter Olympics 4 2.

Despite starting as a joke, Dogecoin developed a strong community and gained significant attention, even catching the eye of high-profile individuals like Elon Musk, who publicly championed it, further boosting its value and visibility 5.