How To Buy Dogecoin (DOGE). The Original Meme Coin!

There used to be two types of people in the world: Those who took crypto seriously and those who didn’t. Where many saw it as just another fad doomed to fail, many saw it as the next step in global finance.

However, both parties started to mix with each other, transforming crypto into a space where you didn’t have to take yourself too seriously to succeed. There is a cryptocurrency that reflects this better than any other: Dogecoin.

Originally designed as a joke, Dogecoin was not taken seriously by most crypto investors at first. This made the “Meme Coin” exist for years on the fringes of the crypto world until 2021. Parallel to the rise of Reddit trading, the subreddit /r/wallstreetbets, and meme stocks like GME, came the rise of the original Shiba Inu-inspired coin.

The coin’s success was not only driven by figures like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban but also by internet communities. The crypto Reddit meme community /r/satoshibets rallied around Dogecoin with the cry of transforming DOGE into a $1 coin.

While this has not yet come to be, the coin did reach an all-time high of $0.74 in May of 2021. Since then, DOGE has consistently been one of the top 15 coins by market capitalization.

In this guide, we’re going to be looking at the original “Meme Coin”, its technology, and some community events funded with the coin. We’re also going to be going through where and how to buy Dogecoin if you want to join in the fun… And of course, make money.

What is Dogecoin?

Dogecoin is an open-source peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that was launched in 2013 by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus as a joke. The sporting of the familiar face of the Shiba Inu meme does reflect its parody nature. It was created as a response to the hype and uproar that started to appear around Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

While the coin started as a satirical product, it soon started gaining popularity. The fact that the coin was already a fully-fledged cryptocurrency with its blockchain and mining system let users get behind the project. The similarities between Dogecoin and Litecoin’s coding also contributed to making the currency extremely popular among Litecoin miners.

Many different fundraisers started appearing shortly after the launching of the coin. For one, the coin was used to raise funds to send the Jamaican Bobsleigh team to the 2014 Olympics. This was following the news that the team had difficulties flying to Russia after qualifying for the first time since 2002.

Another such fundraiser was the one launched later the same year. In this case, the community rallied behind a NASCAR driver to sponsor their car. Events like these would make the currency a favorite among those looking to make a change.

2015 saw the founder of Dogecoin declare a ‘leave of absence’ from the digital currency community. Since then, he has voiced his concerns about the influence that the big players had over the crypto world. In 2017, the value of Dogecoin spiked with the rest of the crypto community. At this point, the coin surpassed the $1 billion market capitalization for the first time.

More recently this year, the coin did reach meme status with the attention of Reddit and celebrities like Elon Musk, Snoop Dogg, and Mark Cuban.

This celebrity endorsement on top of the listing on the exchange Coinbase brought the coin to surge, reaching its all-time high. Now, Dogecoin is not only limited to the portfolio of netizens but also some of the wealthiest investors in the crypto world.

How Does Dogecoin Work?

While it may have started as “just” a meme coin, the technology behind Dogecoin is solid. This is the result of the coin being originally created as a fork of Litecoin, meaning that they share much of the same code.

Dogecoin works on a proof-of-work protocol, using Scrypt technology. If you’re wondering what proof of work is, you can take a look at our recent article on this matter. In short, miners are rewarded with DOGE for processing the transactions that take place on the blockchain. They allow the coin to operate and are rewarded for doing so.

One thing to consider is that Dogecoin is inflationary and not deflationary in nature. What that means is that, unlike such platforms like Bitcoin, there is no limit to the amount of Dogecoin that can be mined.

As a result, the coin will tend to lose value over time if demand doesn’t increase. This has led many people to consider the coin more of a “spending currency” than a long-term investment asset.

One development of note is the creation of renDOGE (RENDOGE), a one-for-one representation of Dogecoin on the Ethereum blockchain. Thanks to the partnership between the Ren Project and OpenDAO, users can use their Doge on the DeFi network, adding value to it.

Why Should You Consider Buying Dogecoin?

Although it started as a joke, Dogecoin represents the original ideals of cryptocurrency: A decentralized digital currency that is entirely community-driven. As such, there are multiple places and platforms that accept the currency as a payment method. This, in turn, results in more people acquiring Dogecoin to use it as a payment method, increasing its value.

If you are considering using DOGE as a transactional currency, there is a great platform of users that do accept them as payment for goods and services. There is even a website that compiles a list of different Shops and Charities that accept Dogecoin as a payment option or for donations. You can find the website here: https://spendyourdogecoins.cf/about.html.

Historically, another popular option for the coin is to spend your Doge to tip other people who provide content over the internet. This made the coin a popular platform to show appreciation to strangers on the internet. While the most popular bot for this purpose has died, it is almost certain that others will show up in the near future.

On top of all of this, the platform is a serious contender in the crypto world. At the time of writing, the coin sits at number 9 in market rank on Coinmarketcap and sports a 24-hour trading volume of $1,610,954,023. This shows that the coin is not a joke anymore, being able to compete even with the biggest projects in space.

Where to Buy Dogecoin?

Now let’s look at where exactly you can buy Dogecoin. Thanks to the longevity in the crypto community and the recent fame the coin has received, it’s not hard to find. You can acquire Dogecoin on all the major exchanges. In this review, we’ll be focusing on buying the coin on Binance.

The exchange is famous for having a massive variety of different coins available and very small trading fees. These features make the exchange a great platform for all traders, beginners, and veterans alike. We’ve already done a review of Binance here. If you’re still unfamiliar with what is potentially the biggest crypto trading exchange, that is a great place to start.

On the other hand, if you just don’t like Binance, most of the other exchanges have you covered. Here in our exchanges section, you can find all the exchanges we have already covered. You’ll be sure to be able to buy Dogecoin on any of the platforms (e.g. Coinbase, Gate.io, FTX).

Let’s get to it and look into how to buy Dogecoin on Binance.

Step 1: Get a Crypto Wallet

Like with all cryptocurrencies, you will have to find a place to store your Dogecoin. While some may consider Dogecoin to just be another worthless meme coin, the reality is that it is still valuable and can be stolen if you don’t keep it safe. Thus, you would first want to be checking out a wallet to store your coins in.

If you’re still unfamiliar with cryptocurrency wallets, you may want to check out our wallets section. There, you can find reviews and articles on what the best wallets are.

You can either simply keep your Dogecoin in an exchange, store it in a software wallet, or even in a hardware wallet. Depending on how safe you want to keep your coins, you may be looking at different options. While software wallets may be more convenient, hardware wallets are the safest options that you can get.

Here are our top picks for Dogecoin wallets:

Wallet Name	Type of Wallet	URL
Ledger	Hardware Wallet	https://www.ledger.com/
Trezor	Hardware Wallet	https://trezor.io/
Trust Wallet	Software Wallet	https://trustwallet.com/
Dogecoin Core	Software Wallet	https://dogecoin.com/dogecoincore
MultiDoge	Software Wallet	https://dogecoin.com/multidoge

On the software side, there is also Dogecoin Core. Dogecoin Core is the official Dogecoin wallet maintained by the Dogecoin foundation. This wallet is kind of heavy and downloads the entire blockchain.

While this may be of interest to some who are going to be mining, those who aren’t may look for other options. One such option is the more lightweight MultiDoge Wallet that just skims through the blockchain.

If not, you can just look at other wallet options. Most wallets cover Dogecoin so you should not have any issues. That being said, it’s always to double-check the supported currencies of your chosen wallet to not be surprised later on.

Step 2: Create a Crypto Exchange Account

While we’re looking at the case of Binance, the account creation process should be very similar across different exchanges. This process starts with heading over to Binance (If you live in the USA go to Binance US) and hitting the register button.

Once there, you’ll be asked for an email and other options that need to be filled out before hitting ‘Create Account’. After that, it’s as simple as completing the security and email verification.

Do note that we highly recommend that you enhance the security of your account with two-factor authentication. Once the account has been created, you should be able to find the option on the security page of your account.

Step 3: Verify Your Identity

Now that we have an account and have made sure to secure it with an authenticator, we can move to verify your identity.

Although you may have been able to create an account without problems, what you can do with it at this point is pretty limited. You do need to verify your identity to gain access to most of the functionality on the platform.

What is required is basic personal information and a picture of your ID. Thankfully, it’s a relatively simple process you can complete by going to your profile page and clicking on “Identity Verification.”

Step 4: Buy Dogecoin Using Debit/Credit Card

This is the point where we get into the matter of answering the question of ‘how to buy Dogecoin’.

Now that we have the tedious account creation over with, we can look into actually buying our Dogecoin.

On Binance the process is simple enough with a credit or debit card. This is done over the ‘Buy Crypto’ option. In the form that pops up, you should find the option to select the amount of DOGE you want to buy. You then input your card details and the DOGE should shortly appear in your Binance account after completing the transaction.

Do note that you are not only limited to buying your Dogecoin with a credit or debit card. You can do so through other methods as well. These include Bank Deposits, Peer-to-Peer trading, and trading them for other cryptocurrencies on the market.

However, using a card is the easiest way to buy any cryptocurrency using Binance.

Step 5: Transfer Dogecoin To Your Wallet

Now that we have our Dogecoin, we want to transfer it to a wallet for safekeeping. This step is also easy enough.

In your external wallet, simply go to the ‘receive’ or otherwise ‘deposit’ section. There you should be able to select the coin of choice, in this case, Dogecoin or DOGE. Should you be using a wallet specific to Dogecoin, you may not be required to do this selection.

Once this is done, the public address should appear. After you copy this address, head over to Binance again. In Binance, you will need to head over to the wallet overview. In this section, next to your holding of DOGE, you should find the option to ‘Withdraw’.

There you input the receiving address, in this case, your wallet, and select the network you want to use to transfer.

When you perform the withdrawal, you’ll receive two confirmation codes, one over email and one over SMS. These are used to verify your identity and confirm the withdrawal. It’s as simple as that. Now you have been able to buy Dogecoin and the same is safely stored in your wallet.

Conclusion

While Dogecoin may have started as a meme coin, it’s difficult to consider it one anymore. The fact that it has a strong community presence and is based on a solid platform makes it no longer be a joke.

It’s easy to see that there is a very strong Dogecoin community that participates in multiple fundraisers and charitable events that enriches the currency.

That being said, given the fact that the coin does tend to devalue over time does make it a bit more of a spending currency. This doesn’t mean that the currency is not going to increase in value but only makes it a bit more unpredictable in the long term

We hope to have been able to give you an insight into this cryptocurrency. At this point, you should know how to buy Dogecoin as well. You’re now well prepared to go on Reddit and participate in the memes… Or just start investing by adding DOGE to your portfolio.