Dogecoin Turns 12, DOGE Founder Shares How It All Started

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So, it’s Dogecoin’s 12th birthday. Yep, you heard that right. The meme-coin that somehow became a thing in the wild world of cryptocurrency is officially a pre-teen now. Launched on December 6, 2013, by two software engineers (Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer), Dogecoin began as a joke. And yet, here we are-celebrating it like it’s the new gold standard in digital currency. Go figure. 🐶💰

And what exactly is Dogecoin? Well, it’s a dog-themed cryptocurrency (obviously). More specifically, it’s the world’s first “dog coin” to be taken somewhat seriously. The logo? A Shiba Inu, that cute little Japanese dog breed who became an online meme sensation. (Because why wouldn’t you choose a meme-worthy dog to represent your multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency, right?)

On its 12th anniversary, Billy Markus, Dogecoin co-founder and self-proclaimed “Shibetoshi Nakamoto” on X (formerly Twitter, but we’re all pretending it’s still Twitter, right?), tweeted about how it all began. In his typical sardonic style, he reminisced about the humble origins of Dogecoin:

12 years ago i made something stupid and then a bunch of even stupider stuff happened and now i am posting about it on the internet to 2.15 million followers

happy 12th genesis day, dogecoin

– Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) December 6, 2025

Classic Billy. But wait, there’s more. Seems like he forgot that his following had actually surpassed 2.2 million, so he had to correct himself in another tweet, adding: “oh, 2.26 million followers, apologies to the 110k I initially missed- you are all special too.” 🙄

Now, let’s talk about Dogecoin’s rise to fame. Originally a joke, this little digital dog has somehow wormed its way into the crypto elite, holding its spot as the ninth-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $22.56 billion. It’s trading at a cool $0.1396 at press time. I mean, talk about the little cryptocurrency that could! 🚀

How It All Started

In case you didn’t know, Jackson Palmer, Dogecoin co-founder and former Adobe marketing guy (because who else would create a cryptocurrency out of pure chaos?), bought the domain Dogecoin.com and threw together a logo and a splash screen using Comic Sans. Yep, that’s right-Comic Sans, the font that gets a bad rap but somehow perfectly embodies the spirit of Dogecoin. 🖋️

Meanwhile, Billy Markus saw the site and thought, “Hey, why not try and actually make this cryptocurrency thing work?” So, he set about developing Dogecoin’s protocol, borrowing some ideas from Luckycoin and Litecoin. Naturally, those coins were using scrypt technology (because everyone’s heard of that, right?).

But wait-there’s a real star here, and it’s not Billy or Jackson. The true hero of this story is Kabosu, the Shiba Inu dog who became the face of Dogecoin. The photo of Kabosu crossing her paws on a sofa, taken by her owner in 2010, went viral. From there, the meme took off like wildfire, and voila, Dogecoin was born. Kabosu passed away in May 2024 after 14 years of internet fame. She lived the dream, honestly. 🐕💔

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2025-12-07 13:21