狗狗幣Dogecoin是什麼？讓Elon Musk也瘋狂狗狗幣的起源、用途介紹 #虛擬貨幣 (160001)

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GME軋空事件震撼了美國金融圈，除了股票市場動盪之外，虛擬貨幣也連帶受到了影響。日前台灣中央銀行粉絲專頁發表了一篇介紹「狗狗幣」的貼文，狗狗幣(Dogecoin)又稱為「多吉幣」或「旺旺幣」，和比特幣(Bitcoin)同樣屬於虛擬貨幣的一種。2021年初GME事件發生，狗狗幣在美國Reddit鄉民和Elon Musk的連帶鼓吹之下達到超過800%的漲幅，出乎意料地再度成為了金融圈的話題焦點。雖然狗狗幣如今已成為世界上流通的主要虛擬貨幣之一，但事實上，狗狗幣的起源只不過是一句玩笑話，它的建立也可以歸因於網路迷因的流行。為什麼狗狗幣叫做「狗狗幣」？和網路迷因有什麼關係呢？讓我們繼續看下去。

相較於比特幣起源於一篇嚴肅的學術論文，狗狗幣的誕生可說是非常「獨特」，它的創造可以說是網路流行話題的結合，也因此狗狗幣的代表圖案就是知名的迷因Doge。相信大部分的人都曾經看過柴犬Doge(狗狗的實際名字為Kabosu，醋橙，但迷因稱之為Doge)的梗圖，1隻日本柴犬配上特定的文字說明，在台灣尤其以「關於感情的問題我一律建議分手」為最主要的流行。

2013年正逢比特幣興起，許多跟風的山寨虛擬貨幣也像春筍般冒出，而同時鋪天蓋地的Doge梗圖也直接或間接造成了網路使用者的精神汙染。狗狗幣的創始人之一，Jackson Palmer當時是Adobe的員工，他用一種諷刺的幽默感將Doge梗圖和虛擬貨幣結合，製作了一張有著Doge頭像的貨幣。Jackson Palmer將這張惡搞圖案放上Twitter，寫著「投資狗狗幣吧！這將是下一件大事(或譯為『一定可以大賺一筆』)」的貼文內容，在發佈之後，這則貼文很快地受到廣大網友們的迴響，於是Jackson Palmer在網友們的鼓吹之下，買下dogecoin.com網域，並在網站留下訊息，徵求想要讓狗狗幣成真的夥伴。

事實上，Jackson Palmer對於加密貨幣一竅不通，狗狗幣也真的只是一個玩笑話，從來沒有想過會真的實現。然而，IBM的工程師Billy Markus在偶然下看見了狗狗幣的訊息，Billy Markus一直都有研究加密貨幣，希望能夠創造出一款讓人們可以廣泛使用，而非單純使用於投資的虛擬貨幣。於是Billy Markus在見到狗狗幣網站後，聯繫了Jackson Palmer，二人的合作讓狗狗幣正式誕生，並且在網路迷因的散播之下，dogecoin.com網站短短30天之內就有超過百萬名訪客。

▲狗狗幣介紹。創造於2013年12月，由萊特幣(Litecoin，比特幣的改進)中派生出來。狗狗幣將挖礦(mining)改成挖洞(diging)，並且將字體改成Doge迷因中使用的Comic Sans字體。

狗狗幣的創辦人Jackson Palmer曾經提過，狗狗幣和比特幣最大的不同，在於狗狗幣並非為了投資而生，因此它擁有更低的挖礦(挖洞)門檻、更方便的購買方式、以及更低的交易費用。在理想的情況下，狗狗幣被設定為一種輕鬆詼諧的虛擬貨幣，它站在虛擬貨幣投資的對立面，一開始設定為1000億個，後續則改為數量無上限，保護狗狗幣的價格。

因為狗狗幣並不值錢，它最常使用在小費和打賞的情況，網友可以在網路上用狗狗幣表達感謝、支持，且因為一般人無法擁有比特幣等其他虛擬貨幣，狗狗幣正好填補了這樣的空缺，讓對虛擬貨幣有興趣的人更容易參與。狗狗幣也常被使用在慈善行為，在2014年，當狗狗幣社群見到牙買加雪橇代表隊沒有經費參與冬季奧運的時候，他們建立了募款活動，最終成功讓雪橇隊可以出國比賽。

對於雪橇隊的比賽支持讓狗狗幣多出了一種俠義的形象，接下來狗狗幣還完成了肯亞水井挖掘募資計畫、以及在2014年3月成功募集了6780萬狗狗幣(當時約5.5萬美元)，贊助NASCAR駕駛員Josh Wise比賽。Josh Wise讓賽車使用狗狗幣的贊助塗裝，這讓狗狗幣在比賽過程中被評論員提起，車體亮相的同時也為狗狗幣宣傳。

▲狗狗幣塗裝賽車，後來美國狗狗幣鄉民的力量也讓Josh Wise在粉絲投票比賽中勝出。(圖片來源：Wiki)

Good to see @Josh_Wise bring back the @dogecoin helmet last weekend! That was such an awesome deal to be apart of pic.twitter.com/VaLUt3LssY

Dogecoin (DOGE): What It Is, What It’s Worth and Should You Be Investing?

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Julien Viry / Getty Images

If you’re bored with index funds and you’re ready to roll the dice on one of those sexy and mysterious new alternative investments, you have plenty of options. One of those options involves a Japanese dog, Elon Musk and what appears to be fake money from a toy cash register.

Read: How Does Cryptocurrency Work – and Is It Safe?

That’s Dogecoin (DOGE), and it’s here to rescue anyone who couldn’t bear to wait one second longer for the latest next-big-thing cryptocurrency that promises to out-Bitcoin Bitcoin.

What Is Dogecoin?

Dogecoin is a joke — or at least it started out as one. Two software engineers — IBM’s Billy Markus and Adobe’s Jackson Palmer — created Dogecoin in 2013 to lampoon all the altcoin wannabes that popped up after Bitcoin rose to blockchain fame. As a logo, they chose a Shiba Inu from a meme called Doge, which went viral that same year.

Important: What Is Unrealized Gain or Loss and Is It Taxed?

Like Bitcoin and all cryptocurrency, Dogecoin is:

Decentralized — it’s not issued or backed by a government or bank

“Mined” independently and recorded on a blockchain

Anonymous — privacy is part of the reason crypto is so popular

Unlike Bitcoin and other “deflationary” cryptocurrencies that exist in limited quantities, there is no cap on “inflationary” Dogecoin.

It started as tech-geek satire, but Palmer and Markus were skilled, experienced and imaginative professionals. Their blockchain, proof-of-work process and minting procedures were stable, efficient and secure. Crypto wonks recognized its potential and the fake currency began amassing a very real following.

More Economy Explained: What Is Inflation and What Does It Mean When It Goes Up or Down?

It already had achieved cult status by the time Tesla CEO Elon Musk started tweeting about Dogecoin in 2021. The props from Musk made Dogecoin a household name and sent its value soaring. It’s now one of the most-used altcoins, particularly for tipping on social media.

How Much Is Dogecoin Worth?

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Investors who are put off by the $59,000 asking price of a single Bitcoin will be happy to know that comparatively, Dogecoin trades at a bargain. As of March 19, Dogecoin was trading at $0.0585 per coin. A single Bitcoin will buy you almost exactly 1 million Dogecoins.

Find Out: Why Some Money Experts Believe In Bitcoin and Others Don’t

Is Dogecoin a Good Investment?

If you’re reading a basic primer like this, you’re probably better off sticking with your ETF until you learn the ropes. Investing in crypto is not like buying shares of Walmart or UPS. First, it’s incredibly volatile. Wild price swings that would make the common investor queasy are par for the course.

The way that cryptocurrency is generated, distributed, validated and accounted for is completely foreign even to most tech-savvy investors. It’s not backed by any bank, government or corporation, and despite the fact that it feels like everyone’s talking about it, crypto is still a highly experimental niche concept that the vast majority of people know almost nothing about and are nowhere near adopting.

Read: How To Invest In Cryptocurrency: What You Should Know Before Investing

There’s a steep learning curve to investing in cryptocurrency. It requires immersion. If you’re just hearing about Dogecoin now, it’s probably best to invest time in research before you invest a single dollar in an imaginary coin adorned with a picture of a smiling dog.

Elon Musk Says You Can Buy a Tesla With Bitcoin, Twitter Wants to Know About Dogecoin

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Elon Musk on Twitter just announced that you can now buy a Tesla car with Bitcoin. Musk’s announcement comes almost a month after Tesla said in a filing the decision was part of its broad investment policy as a company and was aimed at diversifying and maximizing its returns on cash. It said it had invested an aggregate $1.5 billion in bitcoin under the changed policy and could “acquire and hold digital assets from time to time or long-term”. Bitcoin also surged more than 10% the day after to a record high of $43,625 after Tesla’s disclosure. Bitcoin, which has set new record highs in recent months after a rollercoaster ride over the past decade, has also drawn support from major financial institutions this year. The world’s biggest money manager Blackrock recently changed a handful of investment mandates to allow some of its funds to invest in the currency.

Musk’s tweet on the development came with new additional inputs, for example – it is currently only limited to the US, but will open up to other countries soon.

You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2021

Pay by Bitcoin capability available outside US later this year— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2021

And also with a disclaimer.

Tesla is using only internal & open source software & operates Bitcoin nodes directly.Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2021

Twitter, however, wanted to know if Tesla accepted the Internet’s favorite currency: Dogecoin.

Dogeeee— 🎶 One word 🎶 (@globaldogecoin) March 24, 2021

what about dogecoin— emilie (@uwu_orii) March 24, 2021

I wanna buy it with Dogecoin 😂— AUG | Lucas (@CreaTioN_o_0) March 24, 2021

While there is no confirmation on dogecoin yet, Tesla buying Bitcoin by the billions has arguably been the biggest news in the crypto world of late. Even as the Indian government continues to be bearish on cryptocurrencies apart from those controlled centrally, Tesla spending $1.5 billion on Bitcoin to keep the digital currency on its sheets is the first such move by a big corporation, underlining a faint presence of Bitcoin’s everyday applications in its regular discourse. However, Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin is unusual for a publicly listed company, particularly given the most common risks of cryptocurrencies. This very unusual move may have actually put the entire blockchain and cryptography technologies at a key crossroad.

Read more about why Tesla Buying Bitcoin May Have Put Blockchain Tech, Cryptocurrencies at a Key Junction.

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