Dogecoin trading volume trumps all other digital currencies

Digital currencies are often hit or miss, with Bitcoin being king among them and other lesser known digital currencies languishing in the pool of at-least-I'm-worth-something. Then there's Dogecoin. The currency was created in short order as little more than a joke, capitalizing on the amusing Doge meme and entering the digital world with a high maximum output of 100 billion. Though worth little, Dogecoin's trading volume has bypassed all other digital currencies.

Dogecoin, which is arguably seeing its most successful home on Reddit, has become the digital currency change jar of the Internet, existing like that plastic crayon piggy bank you've been feeding pennies into since seventh grade — you're not quite sure what to do with them, but they keep coming your way and you figure you'll find a use for them eventually. This example is all the more apropos when one notes that a single Dogecoin is worth less than a penny — but that's not the point.

According to BitInfo Charts, the value of a single Dogecoin is $0.0003, or thereabouts. That hasn't affected its trading volume, which eclipses all other digital currencies at 27,849,875,872 DOGEs in the wild. Bitcoin is much lower than this, not surprisingly, at 12,256,145 BTCs floating around. Of course, it is all relative. The value of a single Bitcoin has reached high-highs, and is sitting presently at $817.99 USD per unit.

For those mining and trading Dogecoins, it isn't the financial aspect that makes DOGEs valuable, however. The digital currency has become something like the Reddit Karma of only-exists-in-the-digital-world monies. If someone likes something you've shared online — perhaps just a well-timed joke — or if someone wishes to express a bit of gratitude, Dogecoin has become an increasingly popular way to do so, serving as the tender for what basically amounts to leaving jovial Internet tips.

SOURCE: Business Insider