Started as a joke in 2013, meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin DOGE/USD remains one of the most valuable and talked about cryptocurrencies today. Crypto and other coins in the sector have soared since then Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, ushering in a potentially more crypto-friendly government.

Here’s a look at the history of Dogecoin and how lucky investors who bought in 2013 would be now.

What happened: Dogecoin was founded in 2013 by Jackson Palmer And Billy Markus. The coin was intended as a satirical coin to mock Bitcoin BTC/USDbut over time has gained support from a loyal community.

Palmer purchased dogecoin.com and came into contact with Markus, who had previous experience with altcoins, including creating a coin based on the Bells currency in the Animal Crossing video game. The duo created the coin in just a few hours, with Markus previously saying that much of the development time was spent changing the coin’s font to Comic Sans.

The cryptocurrency was based on the iconic Doge meme that shines Kabosua Shiba Inu dog.

On December 6, 2013, a profile for Dogecoin was created on Bitcointalk.org. On December 8, 2013, a subreddit for Dogecoin (r/Dogecoin) was created. The coin opened for trading on December 15, 2013.

One of the coin’s first uses was as a tipping bot on Reddit.

Dogecoin’s price rose from around $0.0002 to $0.002 in two weeks, marking a significant return for early investors.

The coin rose alongside other altcoins in 2017 before falling in price in late 2018.

One of Dogecoin’s biggest public supporters over the years has been Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In a 2019 Twitter post electing Musk as the fictional CEO of Dogecoin, the billionaire declared: “Dogecoin could be my favorite cryptocurrency.”

Musk has since tweeted about Dogecoin several times, and several of his companies have even accepted the cryptocurrency as payment. Musk’s acquisition of social media platform Twitter, now known as X, has led to several price spikes for Dogecoin, with some believing the coin will be integrated into the platform.

In 2021, Dogecoin hit an all-time high, a move that could have been helped by an appearance by Musk on “Saturday Night Live.”

Today, Musk may have helped boost the price of Dogecoin thanks to his bid to take charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE for short, under Trump.

Over the years, another vocal supporter of Dogecoin has been a billionaire and NBA team owner Mark Cuban. The billionaire revealed that he owned Dogecoin and had the Dallas Mavericks accept the cryptocurrency for merchandise and tickets in the past.

Retailers and websites started accepting Dogecoin as a form of payment due to its popularity. Cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coin base And eToro added Dogecoin to their platform due to customer demand.

While Dogecoin isn’t trading near its all-time highs in 2021, many early investors are still enjoying strong returns.

Also Read: Here’s How Much $100 of Dogecoin Could Be Worth Today If DOGE Hits New All-Time Highs

Invest $100 in Dogecoin: According to data from Coinmarketcap, Dogecoin started trading on December 15, 2013.

A look at the chart on Coinmarketcap shows a price of $0.0002993 for Dogecoin on December 15, 2013.

An investment of $100 at the time could have purchased 334,112.93 DOGE.

The investment would be worth $119,545.06 today, based on a price of $0.3578 for Dogecoin at the time of writing.

Dogecoin reached an all-time high of $0.7376 in May 2021. The hypothetical $100 investment would have been worth $246,441.70 at that time.

“Lots of wow” indeed!

What’s next: Not every cryptocurrency investment will increase in value, and the hypothetical investment has likely been realized by few, if any, people.

A Trump victory has sent cryptocurrency prices soaring, with Bitcoin hitting several all-time highs during the current trading week.

Dogecoin hit a one-month and one-year high at $0.4359 in the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency has traded between $0.07028 and $0.4359 over the past year. The cryptocurrency has failed to return to its all-time highs in recent years, with the current rally being the closest the coin has come since.

Optimism for the Trump administration and Musk’s role for DOGE could continue to put Dogecoin in the spotlight.

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This article was previously published by Benzinga and has been updated.

Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.