“It’s magical internet money.”
Humboldt-based Josh Mohland is something of a honcho in the emerging alt-currency world, specializing in a virtual tender called Dogecoin.
Though it started as a joke, Mohland says random online Dogecoin donors have supported charitable causes from Africa to HSU.
“It’s been a wild ride, and we’re having fun doing it,” Mohland told KHUM. [Listen to the full interview below.]
Mohland is now a full-time cryptocurrency professional. “I’ve got a product called dogetipbot, and what it does is, it allows you to throw change at people on the internet.”
So, if you see a comment on Reddit that you like and an upvote isn’t emphatic enough, you could tip them in Dogecoin. This virtual tip jar could someday expand to other platforms like Twitter or DISQUS.
[LoCO comment readers: Imagine if every “Puff on!” from Puff n’ Tuff’ also carried financial value.]
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin are the future of money, say proponents like Mohland, the Winklevoss twins and Marc Andreessen. Andreessen argues that credit card fees create a 2%-3% drag on the economy, international money transfers are too expensive, and merchants in countries with unstable currencies can’t get ahead. Bank Of America Merrill Lynch and Google Payments are both rumored to be working on Bitcoin integration. Someone in McKinleyville will fix your bong for Bitcoin. Even the rap-rock group Insane Clown Posse is getting in on it.
Conversely, many economists say it’s a fad cooked up by pollyannaish solutionists who don’t understand traditional economics.
Alan Greenspan has pointed out that money has to be backed up by something of intrinsic value, and law enforcement advocates worry that an untraceable virtual currency would make it much easier for a criminal to buy, say, a rocket launcher. Bitcoin is also wildly volatile.
And besides, Insane Clown Posse is getting in on it.
[For more on the pros and cons of magical internet money, check out Freakonomics’ take on it.]
“I think so. Why not?” - Josh Mohland, on whether money should be fun.
Dogecoin (pronounced “dohshkoyn“) is named for the popular image macro that Wired Magazine named “meme of the year” in 2013, in which a Shibe Inu is captioned with syntactically-questionable quotes in comic sans. Its cheerleaders are proudly irreverent, with Dogecoin creator Jackson Palmer recently telling a conference room full of believers, “We need to never lose sight of the fact that this is a dog on a coin.”
Dogecoin seems to operate more as a functional, high-volume currency compared to its big sibling Bitcoin.
While one can apparently buy a Lamborghini, a Virgin spaceflight, or lemonade with Bitcoin, it’s often treated like gold: an asset to sit on.
“It’s gone up, it’s followed the price of Bitcoin, but most of the time, we don’t pay attention to the price of it, we just throw it around and get more people to use it,” Mohland adds.
But what’s Dogecoin actually worth in American dollars? While its market cap has reached as high as $100,000,000, 10 Dogecoin is only worth about $0.01.
Mohland says that since its launch four months ago, the Tipbot processes about 20,000 tips per day, with about $1,000-$2,000 changing hands.
Through Reddit (u/Mohland), Mohland and others have used Dogecoin to build a well in Kenya, fund the Jamaican olympic bobsled team, sponsor a NASCAR racecar, and raise money for other charitable causes.
[Photo: @dogecoin]
Locally, Mohland spearheaded a fundraising campaign for the HSU bus crash families. He says over $7,000 was raised, soley from the Reddit community. Mohland says he personally put about $800 up for the cause.
Sharpshooters, ready your sternly-worded correction emails, because I only barely understand what makes this work, and know even less about economics. What makes Dogecoin different from Bitcoin? What’s stopping counterfeiters? What about the hackers? Who belongs on coins? Does money need updating?
I don’t get it, but it certainly seems interesting.
[Two disclaimers: 1) This is a modified version of a story that originally appeared on KHUM.com. 2) Since its publication, I’ve been tipped about $3 worth of Dogecoin via Reddit, which I still don’t know how to spend, but will donate to charity. - mike@khum.com)
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