'Joke' Cryptocurrency Dogecoin Now Has a $2 Billion Market Cap It's official: cryptocurrency investing has really gone to the dogs.

By David Murphy

This story originally appeared on PCMag

via PC Mag

You can point to the incredibly volatile pricing of today's top cryptocurrencies as proof that they are, at a minimum, an incredibly risky investment. And you can get an even better idea of the state of the market by looking at the strange success of one unlikely currency: Dogecoin. Yes, that's the cryptocurrency that's named after the incredibly popular Shiba Inu dog meme that took off in 2013. Originally created as a joke, Dogecoin now sits at a market capitalization of over $2 billion.

Dogecoin was trading at just around $0.0021 a coin around the beginning of December. And it appears to have been wrapped up in all the "Bitcoin Mania" over the past month, which includes all the companies that put the word "blockchain" in their names and watched their stock prices soar. As of today, Dogecoin trades for around $0.018 a coin -- a 757-percent increase.

"I haven't held a substantial amount of Dogecoin since early-2015 so the market cap doesn't mean a lot to me," writes Jackson Palmer, Dogecoin's creator. "It does however act as my barometer for crypto mania and speculation. I have a lot of faith in the Dogecoin Core development team to keep the software stable and secure, but I think it says a lot about the state of the cryptocurrency space in general that a currency with a dog on it which hasn't released a software update in over 2 years has a $1B+ market cap."

Palmer says he's concerned that all the talk surrounding the valuation of different cryptocurrencies -- focused on their potential as investments -- is taking too much attention from the technology that powers them.

"As a result, we're seeing even highly centralized assets such as Ripple achieve extremely high valuations, despite their lack of technological innovation and misalignment with the original vision of Bitcoin," he writes.

Are we in a bubble, though? According to Palmer, the answer seems pretty obvious: yes. Unfortunately, it's a lot trickier to time when this bubble might burst, if it does. And should that happen, Palmer says that he hopes negative reactions to the considerable amount of money that might be lost don't ruin the mainstream appeal of digital currency, nor stifle research and innovation in the space.

To that point, even Dogecoin's developers are willing to offer a little financial device via their Twitter account: Don't borrow money to trade Dogecoin (or any cryptocurrency).

Wavy Line

Editor's Pick

A Father Decided to Change When He Was in Prison on His Son's Birthday. Now His Nonprofit Helps Formerly Incarcerated Applicants Land 6-Figure Jobs.
Lock
A Teen Turned His Roblox Side Hustle Into a Multimillion-Dollar Company — Now He's Working With Karlie Kloss and Elton John
Lock
3 Mundane Tasks You Should Automate to Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff
Lock
The Next Time Someone Intimidates You, Here's What You Should Do
5 Ways to Manage Your Mental Health and Regulate Your Nervous System for Sustainable Success

Related Topics

Business News

'Do You Hate Me?': High School Teacher Shares Wild Emails He Receives From Students

Jordan Baechler teaches high school students in Ontario, Canada.

Career

How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome as a Young Entrepreneur

How to recognize, cope with and overcome the feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy that plague many aspiring business owners.

Business News

'I Am Just Floored': Woman Discovers She Won $1 Million Lottery Prize While Checking Her Email at Work

Initially, she thought the email was a scam, but went to lottery headquarters and walked away with a six-figure check after taxes.

Growing a Business

How to Build a Thriving Community That Will Skyrocket Your Business

Build a strong community, and transform your business with these proven strategies.

Growing a Business

How Experiential Dining Offers Unforgettable Customer Experiences

With over 660,000 restaurants in the US alone, restaurant-goers have plenty of options to choose from. But what sets a restaurant apart from the rest?