In this paper, the development of Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency derived from the famous “Doge” meme, will be discussed in detail, pointing out at how the initial perception of Dogecoin as a mere joke has changed as the currency became more serious and manifested its ability to challenge other major cryptocurrencies.

Initially launched in December 2013 as a satirical cryptocurrency inspired by Bitcoin’s design, Dogecoin has become a popular cryptocurrency with the support of retail trader and stars of the technological sphere. The rising popularity and price of DOGE also brought the development activity and experiments with its applicability.

The Dogecoin Foundation, which was recently revived with the help of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Tesla’s Elon Musk among others, has been developing a roadmap to improve DOGE’s use and underlying technology.

The fundamental achievement for the development of Dogecoin was the increase in its use and popularity as the payment method. Some of the leading brands and merchants accept DOGE for buying products right from sports clubs to online stores. This has also enhanced the practical usage of Dogecoin by the merchants has gone a long way in giving the cryptocurrency a real use instead of just being an investment tool like other cryptos.

The community of Dogecoin, which has organized several fundraisers, has not ceased to apply the cryptocurrency for beneficent actions. Many campaigns, donations and other charitable activities have been already conducted with the help of DOGE which proves the idea that people from cryptocurrency neighbourhood can also change the world.

This aspect has also played a pivotal in ensuring that the impression it holds in the market is positive as well as its focal goal, being a community-driven coin. In terms of technical advancement, developers have focused on enhancing the same as seen in the case of Dogecoin. Solutions regarding increasing the transaction velocity, decreasing the fees, and integrating the smart contracts contemplate.

It is these potential update possibilities that could leave Dogecoin much more directly comparable with other major cryptocurrencies in terms of functionality and use. Sometimes it has been beneficial as was the case when Elon Musk Tweeted in support of the currency, other times it has been disastrous as was the case when Elon Musk Tweeted about Tesla accepting Bitcoin.

While, it has attracted extensive attention and new users into the cryptocurrency market, it has raised several questions as to its influence on market manipulation and the sustainability of Doge’s value. But the Dogecoin foundation along with the community and the developers have been trying to solve this problem of relying on such individual personalities.

However, like any other crypto currency, there remains the problem of how to saddle Dogecoin from community joke currency to having real world utility. The cryptocurrency is likely to face strong pressures from the business community t o change and conform, but retaining its subculture will be in the long run as well as developing a new form of legitimation will be vital for its success.

As long as it continues to gain more users’ acceptance and backed by active developers, Dogecoin can exist to fill a specific market in the cryptocurrency space – the combination between the light-hearted humor of memes and the technologized reality of finance.