Dogecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency based on a Shiba Inu dog internet meme that went viral on social media. At first, Dogecoin was created solely to poke fun at other cryptocurrency projects that were being launched at the time, but it quickly grew a devoted fan base that discovered and developed new use cases for it. It is regarded as the first "meme coin" and the first "dog coin." Dogecoin claims to be significantly faster and less expensive than Bitcoin. For example, it can process approximately 33 transactions per second, compared to approximately five transactions per second on the Bitcoin network. In 2014, members of the Dogecoin team started the Dogecoin Foundation, a non-profit, to provide support, governance, advocacy, and trademark protection for the token. However, the Foundation became inactive with time and was eventually dissolved. In 2021, the Foundation was relaunched with a board consisting of members of the core team and seasoned industry players, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalk Buterin, as advisors. While the native token, DOGE, was initially developed without any specific utility, its use as a digital currency has increased over the years. As of September 2022, over 2,000 merchants across the globe accepted DOGE as payment. To this day, Dogecoin has one of the most robust and vibrant online communities in the crypto space. How does Dogecoin work? Dogecoin uses a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism that was cloned from Litecoin's network. It uses the Scrypt mining algorithm to validate transactions. Dogecoin, similar to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and altcoins, can be created through mining. Mining Dogecoin is a way to both support the network and gain new DOGE tokens in the process. This computationally intensive process involves computers competing to solve complex mathematical problems to verify transactions and secure the blockchain network. When miners successfully solve these problems and contribute to the network's security, they are rewarded with DOGE. Dogecoin's blockchain network allows users to send DOGE to other users anywhere in the world without needing a financial intermediary to process the transaction. Transactions made over the network are permanently recorded and cannot be erased or reversed. Dogecoin's network can process up to 40 transactions per second, making it faster than Bitcoin's. It also has much lower transaction fees than Bitcoin. Dogecoin has gained the support of many crypto enthusiasts as well as prominent celebrities over the years. The Dogecoin Foundation, the project's management team, has been relentlessly developing new features and maintaining the project to improve its utility. Dogecoin has also influenced many other popular cryptocurrencies in the crypto market, which are now referred to collectively as "meme coins." DOGE price and tokenomics Dogecoin had a max supply of 100 billion coins at first. This was later changed to an infinite supply. As a result, Dogecoin is inflationary, which means that its supply, which is currently 132 billion as of September 2022, will only grow over time. New DOGE tokens are created in a computationally-intensive process known as mining. DOGE's circulating supply equals its total supply, indicating that all tokens are in the hands of users and the development team reserved none. Each year, 5 billion new DOGE tokens are created, giving the cryptocurrency an inflation rate of around 4 percent, a low figure compared to other inflationary currencies. DOGE experienced tremendous popularity and was one of the most trending tokens during the 2021 bull run, cementing its position as one of the top digital assets of the year.