Dogecoin: The Japanese rescue dog who became the unlikely face of a crypto sensation

This article was originally published in 2021

For a cryptocurrency originally conceived as a joke, a satire against bitcoin and the whole crazed online gold rush of the last decade, Dogecoin has had an absolutely extraordinary year.

In late January, its value skyrocketed by 800 per cent in 24 hours to $0.07 as Reddit users and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk roped it into the GameStop short squeeze battle to thwart Wall Street traders attempting to capitalise on the downfall of the beloved high street retailer.

Dogecoin continued to and ex-Kiss frontman , before hitting an all-time high of $0.72 on 5 May and registering a market capitalisation of $85.3bn.