Despite a large following, there seems to be much unknown about the foremost meme coin, Dogecoin. In a bid to get the crypto community more acquainted with Dogecoin’s history, Litecoin maximalist Shan Belew has moved to inform the community about this historical event that saved the meme coin. 

How Litecoin Saved Dogecoin

Belew tweeted that Dogecoin merged mined with Litecoin in 2014, with the blockchain network ultimately implementing an auxiliary-proof-of-work (AuxPoW) consensus mechanism in the process. 

Merged mining is when a miner can mine multiple cryptocurrencies on different blockchains. A miner can do this without sacrificing performance and maintaining a high-security level. S it is believed that Belew was referring to Dogecoin being able to tap into Litecoin’s security infrastructure when he said Litecoin “saved” Dogecoin.  

Meanwhile, Belew revealed that he had submitted a request to update Dogecoin’s Wikipedia page with this update. However, that request seems to have been denied, as he put out a tweet asking if anyone can help with including the information on the Wikipedia page.

Can anyone help get this updated? My input was denied. #dogecoin https://t.co/npcNOAKaJf

— Shan Belew (@MASTERBTCLTC) September 3, 2023

According to him, this event, which happened on September 11th, 2014, is “compelling” but “often overlooked” as even “Dogecoin’s own Wiki doesn’t even discuss the history.”

Another X (formerly Twitter) user noted that Dogecoin’s Wiki page is “heavily moderated,” making it very difficult to make any proposed changes to the page. He also stated that any input may be rejected if evidence suggests that it was being done to promote the Litecoin token. 

Doge wiki is very heavily moderated… doubtful you’ll get it accepted even if with I’s crossed and t’s dotted.

BUT, first problem is that they don’t accept coindesk as a source. Second one is that they’ll instantly reject if there’s even a hint that you’re promoting ltc

— Vitamin (@LtcBtc) September 3, 2023

DOGE’s Ironic Rise To Prominence 

Software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer created Dogecoin in 2013 as a “joke,” making it the first meme coin. Despite its comical nature, the meme coin has grown to become one of the largest cryptocurrencies, with a market cap of over $9 billion. 

The token enjoyed its best year in 2021, hitting an all-time high of $0.7376. Dogecoin’s meteoric rise has been partly attributed to the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. Musk is known to have at different times made cryptic comments about the crypto token, which has most times led to a surge in the token’s value. 

A recent report also suggests that Musk has done more than just commenting about Dogecoin, as he has also been discreetly funding the development of the meme coin. If so, then it is a real possibility that Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) platform could, at some point, integrate the cryptocurrency into the platform, with users making payments in DOGE. 

If that happens, it could further see the token’s utility increase significantly and invariably have an effect on its value.