Dogecoin has struck a chord with mainstream users in a way that focuses on charity rather than crypto-anarchy, making it so much more attractive .

The Dogecoin Foundation is a venture designed to help empower community spirit and improve the user experience… Users can donate to various causes and development projects and be sure that their coins are going to a legitimate fund.” –Dogecoin Mission Statement.

What does the future hold for Doge? It’s too early to project whether this phenomenon will ultimately burn out as people tire of the Doge meme, but we think you will want to be along for the ride. While the community has gained incredible momentum, for now, the crazy growth that has developed around it cannot be ignored. How do you ignore something who’s level of transactions has reached a number greater or equal to that of Bitcoin transactions ? (see link) The Dogecoin subreddit is 61k subscribers strong (Bitcoin is at 104k) and growing at least three times faster. In case anyone missed it, a strange thing that happened in mid-January was a spike in the coin, which was the direct result of the community raising $30k for a fellow group of misfits : the Jamaican bobsled team. For approximately one 24 hour period, the volume of Dogecoin actually eclipsed Bitcoin. “So amaze, Much riches” – in the words of fellow Reddit-ers.

I am sure as were many of you, the initial common reaction to the coin started with the typical “WTF, seriously?”. But Dogecoin has proven to posses something special: a group of incredible people enthusiastic about their cause and are truly having fun with a cryptocurrency.

It is almost a foregone conclusion that Dogecoin will eclipse Litecoin in market cap by the end of this year (if not by June). A key indicator that will draw many people in and should be mentioned is the significant mining capacity has moved from LTC to Doge. If you’re interested further, I encourage you to read Tuxedage in depth analysis of the coin- this guy moonlights as a comedian.

A question to ask is Dogecoin a threat to Bitcoin? Not at this moment, no, and perhaps it never will be. Today, the coin has a huge community and is under-invested in developers. But these things are reflexive; developers follow users, not vice versa.

In my personal opinion on Dogecoin is the only alt-coin that is essential to have your eye on for the time being.