Dogecoin has experienced solid bursts in its price this week after Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, announced it would be listing the cryptocurrency for users to trade, sell and purchase through the platform. In fact, it appears Dogecoin expanded by more than 32 percent in just a few minutes following the announcement.
Dogecoin: From Joke to Legit Currency
Dogecoin originally began as a joke. The image of a cute little Shiba Inu atop a gold coin seemed to tug at every crypto enthusiast’s heartstrings and funny bone, but now the currency has developed a solid place for itself in the digital asset space, and for the most part, its price has largely eclipsed those of many of its counterparts barring bitcoin.
The creator of the coin, Jackson Palmer, was 26 years old in 2013 when Dogecoin came to be. Since then, it has garnered an array of high-profile supporters including John McAfee, the software and anti-virus genius who recently declared his plans to run for U.S. president.
On Twitter, McAfee explained that Dogecoin is one of the “fastest growing coins based on use.” He states:
Doge started life as a joke/ prank coin. The coin now has a market cap of $360 million. The crypto market is, in no way, related to the stock market. Inherent value is, ultimately, based on usage. Go figure.
Earlier this year, Dogecoin potentially grew in confidence after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the cryptocurrency was “pretty cool” and that it was probably his “fav cryptocurrency.” Musk now has the honor of being the cryptocurrency’s “ex-CEO,” after it was decided in a Twitter poll amongst Dogecoin enthusiasts that Musk should serve as the company’s leader – an offer that ultimately failed to take precedent.
Still, however, Dogecoin is up at press time, and began trading on Binance at 8am this morning, eastern standard time (EST). Binance is likely to face some scrutiny after it announced that it would be delisting bitcoin SV, a new cryptocurrency that resulted from last year’s controversial bitcoin cash hard fork. The move allegedly caused bitcoin to fall into the mid-$3,000 range after it had been trading for around $6,000 during most of 2018’s latter half.
We Know What We’re Doing
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao claims that the company is not playing “favorites” with cryptocurrencies. He also explained his reasoning for listing Dogecoin through a Twitter post, exclaiming:
This one is an exception, as there isn’t much new tech development (I guess it was never about the tech for this one). The users/ community is large, and a famous ‘ex-CEO’ (cough @elonmusk) helps! Enjoy!
At the time of writing, Dogecoin has experienced what one source refers to as “double-digit” percentage gains. It has presently reached a nine-month high, and it currently enjoys a market cap that exceeds half-a-billion USD.