Dogecoin price went up over 30 cents on Friday, a new record high for a cryptocurrency that started as a joke.
The Dogecoin stock traded at around 34 cents late Friday, more than twice its value on Wednesday pegged at 13 cents, according to Coinbase digital currency exchange app.
This came after Elon Musk, Tesla founder and tech billionaire, tweeted "Doge Barking at the moon" along with the photo of Joan Miro's painting titled "Dog Barking at the Moon," as CNN explained.
Dogecoin value skyrocketed more than 400% during the previous week and over 5,000% since the beginning of 2021. It is now one of the top five cryptocurrencies with an estimated market value of around $49 billion, crypto price news source CoinGecko shared in a CNBC report.
Musk posted a series of tweets in favor of Dogecoin back in February, resulting in a more than 50% increase in its trading value. Interestingly, the technopreneur was previously critical of cryptocurrencies and even tweeted against the more established cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
Created in 2013, Dogecoin started as a "memecoin," a humorous response to the rise of digital tokens like Bitcoin. Dogecoin is popularly associated with the Doge meme, a well-known image of a Shibu Inu looking sideways at the camera while raising its eyebrows.
Dogecoin Mining
Dogecoin's price rising trend, as well as the surge in the value of other digital tokens like Ethereum and Ripple, inspired people not only to buy cryptocurrencies but also create them through mining, as Newsweek reported.
Dogecoin mining, like bitcoin mining, can be done with the help of a computer and software. Dogecoin currently has no hard cap unlike bitcoin, wherein only 21 million digital tokens can be mined.
CoinMarketCap's data estimates that there are over 129 billion dogecoins available out there in public circulation.
Dogecoin mining may not be as energy-intensive as Bitcoin mining but still requires knowledge with no guarantee of 100% success.
Dogecoin Mining Alternatives
You could go solo and buy or build a Dogecoin mining rig. Building a mining rig might cost you a lot. Some people spent around $500,000 to build a machine, as USA Inquirer revealed.
Cryptocurrency mining rigs rely on processing power and that explains why they are expensive. You may settle for a cheaper build but the mining process might take longer than when it's done with a more powerful yet more expensive setup.
Besides build cost, be prepared to pay for Internet and electricity costs as well. Digital token mining is currently getting a lot of flak due to its carbon footprint, according to Digiconomist.
Dogecoin mining pools, meanwhile, are gaining popularity, especially among beginners and those who would want higher ROI (return on investment).
A Dogecoin mining pool involves several crypto miners who share their hashing power, making the mining process faster, unlike in the case of a solo miner.
Dogecoin mining pool examples include Multipool and Aikapool. Some things to consider before participating in a mining pool are payout calculation and pool fees.
Dogecoin cloud mining is another alternative for those who want to mine Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies with less effort. A subscription-based arrangement, cloud miners rent machines from a data center and are bound by a contract.
