Holding Dogecoin (DOGEUSD) has been quite unfruitful this year. Year-to-date, DOGE is down nearly 27%. In comparison, many popular cryptocurrencies have been building up their momentum for the next leg up.
Dogecoin originated as a lighthearted parody of the booming crypto market in the early 2010s. It was created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who launched it on Dec. 6, 2013.
It was a joke that quickly turned into a speculative frenzy. There is also some fundamental appeal. Dogecoin's defining feature is its unlimited supply. It also uses the Scrypt algorithm for its proof-of-work consensus mechanism, allowing faster transaction completion vs. Bitcoin (BTCUSD).
The block time here (the time to mine one block) is just one minute. In comparison, Bitcoin’s block time is around 10 minutes. Fewer people own and transact with DOGE, so the network load is relatively light.
Why DOGE Has Been a Disappointing Holding
Cryptocurrencies with cheap transaction times are now a dime a dozen in 2025. Consequently, there aren’t many reasons to invest in DOGE today, unless you are still hoping that Elon Musk may invest a portion of his fortune here. That too is unlikely, as his escapades involving Dogecoin have not led to a sustained rally yet. His tweets with Dogecoin easter eggs used to cause significant positive price action, but every additional tweet seems to have had less and less effect. Many believe he has had a net negative impact due to his involvement in the Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE).
In the past few years, even the top cryptocurrencies have significantly reduced fees. You pay cents to transact on the Ethereum (ETHUSD) chain, the Solana (SOLUSD) chain, and also the Bitcoin chain itself, near $1.12 on average today. All of these are less inflationary than DOGE, since 10,000 Dogecoins are added to the total supply every minute.
Should You Buy or Sell DOGE at $0.23?
The $0.23 price is in the same ballpark as Dogecoin was when I last wrote about it. There have been some positive catalysts since. A whale bought $200 million in DOGE as Dogecoin ETF approval odds rose to 74% based on Polymarket data. Bit Origin (BTOG) could also commit more to Dogecoin on top of its original commitment of $500 million.
Regardless, my opinion remains the same as it was before. You should buy DOGE only if you are confident that the altseason is ahead. It would lift most altcoins with name recognition, including DOGE. However, I do believe you will be missing out in the long run if you decide to solely buy DOGE. With ETH, SOL, and most big-name utility altcoins soaring today, the opportunity cost is too high to go knee-deep into DOGE just yet.
