Markus split what he'd mined 50-50 with Palmer and that was that.
The Dogecoin subreddit exploded almost immediately, and with that explosion came the infrastructure any cryptocurrency needs if it is to become successful: mining pools, services.
But it was the Reddit "tipping bot" that drove Dogecoin into the stratosphere.If a user posted something to the effect of, "hey 'dogebot' tip this person five dogecoin," that Reddit user would automatically receive five Dogecoin.People were sending Dogecoin back and forth in a feel-good exercise that cost very little money in real-world terms.
Reddit users were sharing Dogecoin back and forth constantly, which expanded the user base of Dogecoin and, as a result, increased its value as a cryptocurrency."Pretty much everyone who used Reddit had Dogecoin," says Palmer.Earlier that night, Palmer and the Dogecoin community had brainstormed a ridiculous (but completely brilliant) idea.As huge fans of the comedy "Cool Runnings," Palmer and the Dogecoin crew decided to do something about it.
They chucked up a Dogecoin address onto the subreddit and asked for donations.It was a gesture that symbolized the early spirit of Dogecoin.In Markus' words, they were allergic to the word "invest." Both Palmer and Markus donated all their Dogecoin to these massive charity initiatives.But as the community grew, the initial spirit in which Dogecoin was launched was difficult to preserve.People started to care about the price of Dogecoin.
"I don't mind if someone spends ten bucks and gets some Dogecoin," says Markus.For him, Dogecoin was still crypto "for sillies," but here it was ballooning into a currency people were trading for real money.
Markus decided to bail on Dogecoin.Palmer describes it as "PayPal for cryptocurrency." From the very beginning, Palmer was cynical.Run by a British man calling himself Alex Green, Moolah was a cryptocurrency exchange designed to help people buy and sell Dogecoin.Alex Green began by doling out Dogecoin in exchange for upvotes on the Dogecoin subreddit.He also donated generously to charitable causes the community were involved in, like $2,500 to a cancer charity, or $3,000 to help get the Dogecoin Nascar vehicle on the track?
Soon Moolah began hiring people from the Dogecoin community for key positions in the company.
"Alex Green started building his business on top of Dogecoin," says Palmer.
Despite removing himself from the day-to-day workings of Dogecoin, Markus attended a Dogecoin convention, organized in part by Palmer.Many key figures in the Dogecoin community shared Markus' suspicions, particularly Palmer, who was wary of Moolah from the beginning.Later Moolah began soliciting the Dogecoin community for investment dollars and plenty donated Dogecoin to the cause.An ex-girlfriend of Green got in contact with Palmer and other members of the Dogecoin community.
Like Markus, Palmer decided to bail on Dogecoin.He has no interest in launching another cryptocurrency and has little to do with Dogecoin.
"I hope people see Dogecoin and say, I'm not going to put all my money into thisOutside of the occasional donation, neither Palmer or Markus owns any significant amount of DogecoinBack in January 2014, Markus posted a message on the Dogecoin subreddit; an ode to the community and what it had achievedAn attempt to recapture the spirit in which Dogecoin had been founded
"I have no way of knowing how transient this all may be," Markus wrote of Dogecoin, two months after creating it