How to Buy Dogecoin DOGE in Canada

“Dogecoin is considered to be a “meme coin,”and has many loyal supporters, including entrepreneur Elon Musk.”

Dogecoin was initially created as a joke by its founders, Billy Marcus and Jackson Palmer (a product manager at Adobe) in late 2013. Inspired by sarcastic memes and internet jokes, the software programmers based the cryptocurrency on a popular meme at the time which featured a Shiba Inu dog misspelled with the name “doge”.  

Although starting out as a joke, Dogecoin has garnered some serious attention over the years and has grown to be one of the biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap. It would not be surprising if the community continued to pour more talent and resources to protect the position of this meme coin in the crypto space. With 0% funding fees, free cash withdrawals, and live customer support service seven days a week, we make it simple for Canadians to buy Dogecoin (DOGE) and other cryptocurrencies.

Video Tutorial: How to Buy Dogecoin with Netcoins

Dogecoin’s History

Like other cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin can be volatile and experience significant swings. However, when looking beyond those price fluctuations, Doge has made significant progress since its launch in 2013; even becoming one of the most popular cryptocurrencies by market cap (market cap is the total value of all the coins that have been created).

The goal of Dogecoin is to become a spending currency used worldwide to pay for goods and services. Dogecoin’s quick transaction speeds and low price set it up nicely for this endeavour. Some investors appreciate Dogecoin’s quick transaction speeds, lack of centralized authorities and its potential opportunity of major adoption (thanks in part to the support of big names like Elon Musk)

Although that sounds promising, the risk with Dogecoin is the fact there is no cap on the number of Dogecoins that get created (which increases over 3% per year). This is similar to fiat currencies such as the USD, CAD, and Euro. Governments and banks can print more currency each year, which ultimately devalues the currency and creates inflation.

Dogecoin’s meteoric rise in price has made new millionaires overnight, but it is important to understand that with every investment comes risk. Although Doge has been on a long-term uptrend since its creation, its future price performance depends heavily on the future adoption of the coin alongside the general direction of the crypto market.

When choosing where to buy Doge in Canada, it is vital to choose a reputable and regulated platform like Netcoins; Canada’s first publicly-owned, fully regulated crypto trading platform.

How Much Dogecoin Can I Buy?

The beauty of Dogecoin is that you can buy small fractions of it. It also comes with a small price tag as a single Dogecoin usually stays between a price range of 10 cents to a 1 dollar CAD per Dogecoin (at least over the past year). When compared to larger coins like bitcoin and ether, the smaller price allows you to buy more Doge. Buying Doge in regular intervals (like days, weeks or months) is known as dollar-cost averaging and can be a great way to average out the price at which you buy.

Related article: How to Buy Bitcoin in Canada

How to Store Your Doge?

You can buy Doge from crypto trading platforms, like Netcoins, and leave your Doge inside the platform. However, there are much safer options to storing your Doge as leaving them in exchanges can expose them to certain risks like hacking and theft.

The safest option to keeping your Doge secure is to transfer them into a Doge wallet. A Doge wallet is a type of digital wallet that is used to send and receive Doge, similar to a Google wallet or a physical wallet.

There are four different types of Doge wallets: hardware wallets, desktop wallets, mobile wallets and web wallets.

Hardware wallets look like a USB device. They are considered to be offline wallets because they’re not connected to the internet. The fact they’re offline makes them more difficult to find and to hack. As such, they’re typically considered the safest option to store your Doge.

Desktop wallets on the other hand are programs that store your Doge on your computer’s hard drive. Mobile wallets perform the same function as a desktop wallet but on a mobile device instead.

Finally, a web wallet is an online service that sends and stores your Doge on your behalf anywhere, anytime. Similar to checking your email.

Desktop, mobile and web wallets are all connected to the internet (and referred to as “hot wallets”). Like mentioned earlier, they are more susceptible to potential risks. On the other hand, hardware wallets (or “cold wallets”) are considered safer options as they are not connected to the internet.

This is why it’s often advised that Canadians pull out their Doge from crypto trading platforms and send them directly to a hardware wallet. Only in this way, are they in full possession of their Doge and can keep them secure.

What makes Dogecoin unique?

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that has received significant adoption despite going against all norms. It’s appeal is simple. It’s a fun name, a unique story, and has solid fundamentals that make it a unique and exciting cryptocurrency investment.

Doge’s past performance is impressive too. A six-month stretch between early November 2020 and early May 2021 saw the price of the Dogecoin increase by over 27,000%. Obviously, past performance is not indicative of future performance, but it is clear that Dogecoin has caught the eye of investors around the world who are betting on its future.

Dogecoin is a decentralized currency. The Dogecoin network is not controlled by any single entity or person, which helps to ensure its integrity. It is powered by a network of specialized computers that are both distributed and transparent.

Dogecoin is optimal for transactions. The short and cheap transaction processing times on the Dogecoin network help the coin’s price, potentially positioning it well to become a global spending currency for micro-payments.

Dogecoin is amid major adoption. With endorsement from the likes of Elon Musk, who has called Dogecoin the “people’s crypto,” and the likes of AMC and the Dallas Mavericks who have begun accepting it as a form of payment; Doge has a major opportunity to reach mainstream adoption.

Transactions on the Dogecoin blockchain are completely transparent, in contrast to electronic fiat transactions (like CAD). This also means that transactions recorded on the network cannot be changed or tampered with therefore making its blockchain trust-worthy.

What Can Dogecoin be Used for?

Given its small price value, some investors prefer Dogecoin over other crypto assets like bitcoin which have much larger price values.

Dogecoin has become a trendy way to tip users or communities on Twitter and Reddit. Donations, after tipping, are one of the most important drivers of dogecoin’s transactional nature. More well-known examples include raising funds for Indian Olympic competitors, the Kenyan water crisis, and a NASCAR driver receiving a race sponsorship of 20 million Doge.

It is clear that through different organizations and communities, Dogecoin has become one of the most popular ways to send money in a quick, simple, and fun way. Broadly speaking, this is a small glimpse into the potential Dogecoin has in becoming the favoured way to facilitate peer-to-peer, micro transactions.

What’s the Difference Between Dogecoin and Bitcoin?

At their cores, Dogecoin and Bitcoin share many similarities. For starters, they both aim to act as a global currency. They also use the same proof-of-work protocol. In other words, they create new coins by solving difficult computational problems. Those who solve the puzzles get rewarded new coins, thus releasing new coins into the ecosystem.

However, the two coins have some significant differences, which are important to note when deciding which one to invest in.

Dogecoin does not have a supply cap and sees the number of coins in circulation increase over 3% per year. Although the inflation rate will decrease with time, it is very different from bitcoin’s supply cap which is 21 million coins. There will never be more than 21 million bitcoin in circulation. This makes bitcoin more of a store of value asset, compared with Dogecoin which is considered more of a spending currency for micro-transactions.

Both coins are very different in what they’re trying to accomplish too. While Bitcoin can be considered a safer long-term investment due to its purpose as a store of value, the potential with Dogecoin leans heavier on the short-term time horizon.

Your goals as an investor play a big factor in your preference between between buying bitcoin or Dogecoin (or both). Understanding the difference between day-trading and long-term investing can also help you decide your investing strategy for either of these coins.

Related article: The Pros and Cons of Day-Trading vs. Long-Term Crypto Investing

And if you are curious about or want to buy bitcoin in Canada, consider using Netcoins as a secure and simple option.

What are Dogecoin’s next steps?

2021 was a monumental year for Dogecoin, which experienced a nearly 30-fold increase in price. Aided by incredible tailwinds from the crypto market and meme stock movement, Doge saw big price appreciation and adoption worldwide. To this day, Doge remains one of the top cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Looking into 2022, Dogecoin’s price performance will be heavily dependent on continued growth of the Doge community, its listings onto additional crypto trading platforms, and the general upward direction of the crypto market. However, the most significant opportunity comes with the adoption of Dogecoin from additional companies and celebrities like Elon Musk, who to this day have the power to move Dogecoin’s price with a single tweet.

In general, a bet on Dogecoin is a bet on the crypto industry as a whole. An industry which is trying to revolutionize the traditional, broken financial system. One which is plagued with significant fees and is overridden by central authorities like banks and governments.

The crypto industry on the other hand allows the financial process to be done transparently, with minimal fees, and a decentralized system that gives power back to the people. If this is something of interest to you, Dogecoin can be a great way to start. And if you are a Canadian interested in buying Dogecoin, Netcoins provides a simple and easy way to get started.

Like any investment, it’s always important to heed caution and only invest within your realm of comfort.

This post is for informational purposes only. For proper financial advice, we recommend you speak to a financial advisor.