Meme-based Cryptocurrency Dogecoin Gets Serious

July 2, 2014 By: Michael Foster

Dogecoin Foundation Revamps; Aims to Stop Cryptocurrency’s Free-fall

The cryptocurrency isn’t even a year old, but already Dogecoin Foundation is getting its second iteration. The so-called Dogecoin Foundation 2.0 has publicly announced its mission “to facilitate the use of Dogecoin through goodwill, promotional, and charitable endeavors. It works to ensure the continued prospering of the worldwide Dogecoin Community and to empower people around the globe by spreading a spirit of camaraderie and playful discovery.”

Reversing Bad Trends

Despite growing popularity, cryptocurrencies have had a horrible 2014. After Mt. Gox announced it had been hacked and that millions of dollars of bitcoins had vanished, that currency’s value plummeted.

While Dogecoin ascended from its half-serious satirical roots to some marginal publicity thanks to promoting the Jamaican bobsled team at the Sochi Winter Olympics and promoting Josh Wise, a NASCAR driver, the currency’s popularity and its community’s culture were suddenly threatened by two developments. First, infighting over the trademark for Dogecoin soured many to the currency. Then, the departure of the cryptocurrency’s founder signaled the end of the movement for many.

Foundation to the Rescue

Interest in the currency and activity around it dropped, as did the dogecoin’s value. Dogecoin Foundation 2.0, with new board members, plans to clean the slate that has been sullied by the recent infighting, although scant details have come out about the Foundation’s strategy to quell the trademark controversy, or how they will keep the currency from continuing its decline. The currency has halved in value from its peak market cap of $50 million.