How to Buy Dogecoin

***Money is not a client of any investment adviser featured on this page. The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Money does not offer advisory services.***

With its playful canine mascot and endorsements from billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, it’s not hard to see why investors love dogecoin. Since its creation as a bitcoin spoof in 2013, the cryptocurrency has gained cult status.

Buying in early has made some people very rich: Those who invested before the meme coin exploded in popularity in late 2020 saw the value of their holdings rocket by more than 7,000% to 74 cents by the middle of 2021. But dogecoin has big risks too. It dropped to less than 14 cents by the end of that year, and prices are now hovering around just 7 cents per coin.

That’s why it’s so important not to invest more than you can afford to lose. If you’re ready, here is how you can get your paws on dogecoin.

5 steps to buy dogecoin

You can buy dogecoin by opening an account with a crypto exchange like Coinbase, Binance or Kraken. You can also access dogecoin through investment apps like Robinhood, SoFi and Webull. Here is all you need to know about buying dogecoin in five simple steps.

Dogecoin trading is now available on Coinbase.

See $DOGE Prices on Coinbase >

Decide how much to invest in dogecoin

Financial planners generally recommend investing no more than 3% to 5% of your money — an amount you are willing to lose — in highly volatile assets like cryptocurrencies.

Here are some more points to consider when deciding how much to invest in dogecoin:

Unlike stocks or bonds, dogecoin doesn’t pay dividends or interest. It is not backed by any substantial assets, so if the public loses its fascination with dogecoin, the price could in theory fall all the way to zero.

There is no limit on how many dogecoins can be mined. There are already more than 100 billion dogecoins. In the long run, dogecoin’s price will rise only if investors buy dogecoins faster than miners can produce them.

Dogecoin’s hype-driven rallies can be short lived. In mid-2021 dogecoin’s price doubled in less than a month after Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted he would host Saturday Night Live, setting off rumors he would plug it on the show. As it happened, Musk called the meme coin “a hustle” and during the show, its price plunged by nearly 30%.

With all this in mind, here’s how to get started with dogecoin.

Choose a crypto exchange or investing app

$0 Trading Commissions

Our Partner

Get App

Offers 14 popular cryptocurrencies

Our Partner

Get App

Make trades in real-time

Our Partner

Get App

Purchase crypto with Credit, Debit, Bank Transfer and Apple Pay

Get App

Our Partner

Get App

While not the only way to access dogecoin, using a cryptocurrency exchange is one of the easiest ways to buy dogecoin, bitcoin, ethereum and other crypto assets. A crypto exchange is a digital marketplace where people buy, sell and swap cryptocurrencies.

Most major crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini offer access to dogecoin, but not all exchanges do the same. You can also buy dogecoin by downloading an investing app such as Robinhood or Webull (but again, not every brokerage will offer dogecoin as an asset). These may be better options if you simply want to buy cryptocurrency and then sell for a profit in cash. The downside to some crypto brokerage apps, however, is that you can’t do much else with your crypto. For instance, you may not be able to use your dogecoins on an investing app to buy products where crypto is accepted or move coins to an external crypto wallet that may provide better security.

Open and fund your crypto account

You can sign up for an account with a crypto exchange or brokerage online and in minutes. The sign-up process is relatively simple, but you may need to provide the following information.

• Full, legal name

• Date of birth

• Email address

• Phone number

• Home address

• Social Security number

• Driver’s license, passport, or other government-issued ID

• Bank account and routing numbers if you’re using a checking account to deposit money into your crypto account. This is the cash you will use to buy dogecoin within the crypto exchange or investing app.

After you open your cryptocurrency account, use a checking account to deposit money which you will use to purchase cryptocurrency. The bank transfer may take several days.

Some crypto exchanges also let you use your credit card to buy cryptocurrency, but be aware of the risks. The bank will treat the transaction as a cash advance or as if you borrowed cash from your credit card via an ATM, and that kind of transaction carried a hefty interest rate. You could end up paying a lot more for your dogecoins than what they’re worth. And if dogecoin’s value goes down, you’re left with high-interest credit card debt and no crypto profits to pay it off.

Place an order for dogecoin

To place an order for dogecoin, log into your crypto exchange or brokerage account. Find the search bar and type in “dogecoin” or DOGE. Once you find dogecoin, add the dollar amount you’d like to spend or the number of dogecoins you’d like to purchase. Then press on the “buy” or “order” button and finalize your transaction.

But keep in mind that your broker or crypto exchange may charge trading fees for buying or selling cryptocurrency. You may see fees ranging from about 0.05% to 5% per trade, though every exchange is different. However, some investing apps that offer crypto such as Robinhood and Webull offer commission-free crypto trades.

Consider a crypto wallet

For added security measures and flexibility, some crypto enthusiasts move their dogecoins into a crypto wallet outside one provided by the crypto exchange or brokerage platforms.

Crypto wallets are software or physical devices that contain the keys or passwords that give you access to your cryptocurrency balance on the blockchain, a digital ledger where your cryptocurrency actually lives. These keys also allow you to send, receive and spend cryptocurrencies like dogecoin and bitcoin — a feature absent from many of the crypto wallets provided by brokerages.

Crypto wallet manufacturers claim to offer higher levels of protection than exchanges or brokerages do. On the other hand, many crypto exchanges offer some kind of insurance to protect cryptocurrency holdings.

Crypto wallets come in two forms. Hot wallets are software connected to the internet. You create a password you use to access the digital wallet. For security, many hot wallets are encrypted and require two-factor authentication before you log in to your account.

Cold wallets or hardware wallets are physical devices where you store your crypto keys. Think of it as a flash drive that holds the keys to your cryptocurrency instead of files. The only way a thief could steal cryptocurrency from a cold storage wallet is by accessing the device itself as well as your password details.

“The gold standard and safest way to store cryptocurrency is with a cold storage wallet” says Nicole DeCicco, founder of CryptoConsultz, a blockchain and digital currency consultancy.

To make it easier to find the right crypto wallet, here is a list of the best crypto wallets.

How to buy dogecoin FAQ

What is dogecoin?

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency created in 2013 as a joke based on the popular meme of a Shiba Inu dog that speaks broken English.

Despite its quirky origins and an initial price of less than a penny, dogecoin boasted a market capitalization of more than $10 billion in March 2023. Its popularity is fueled by backers such as Elon Musk, Mark Cuban and Snoop Dogg. It’s also amassed a dedicated following across social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter.

When did dogecoin start?

Dogecoin was created in 2013 as a joke by software engineers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus. Palmer in 2018 admitted creating dogecoin was nothing more than a “hobby project.” Dogecoin co-creator Billy Markus told CNBC in 2021 that he had wanted to create a “fun and lighthearted” crypto community as opposed to the “elitist” one that existed at the time.

Dogecoin vs. bitcoin

Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of nearly $550 billion, compared to dogecoin’s $10 billion market cap.

Bitcoin and dogecoin exist on a digital public ledger called a blockchain. Both use “proof-of-work” frameworks, meaning that cryptocurrency creators called “miners” compete with each other using powerful computers to solve complex mathematical codes that verify crypto transactions and earn themselves new coins.

Unlike with Bitcoin, there’s also no limit to how many dogecoins can be created. Bitcoin’s software ensures there will never be more than 21 million bitcoins in circulation. By contrast, as of March 2023 there were more than 138 billion dogecoins in circulation, according to CoinMarketCap, a cryptocurrency analysis platform.

Where can I buy dogecoin?

You can buy dogecoin through a crypto exchange like Coinbase or an investment app such as Public, which allows you to trade dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies.

How much is dogecoin worth?

As of March 2023, dogecoin is trading for about 7 cents. Its record high was about 74 cents, a peak seen in May 2021, shortly after Elon Musk tweeted that he will host SNL, prompting rumors that he would mention dogecoin on the popular show.

Why is dogecoin dropping?

Because dogecoin isn’t backed by claims on any asset, it can be difficult to say what drives its price up or down. However, there are a few factors that appear to influence its price.

Dogecoin’s price tends to move in concert with other cryptocurrencies. That’s what happened in early 2022, when worries that the Federal Reserve would hike short-term interest rates sent cryptocurrencies tumbling across the board. In the span of roughly a month, dogecoin’s price declined roughly 25%. The drop was similar to declines for bitcoin and many other coins.

News and social media coverage can also drive bitcoin’s price. For example, in spring 2021, dogecoin soared to a high of about 74 cents after Elon Musk — who often expresses his enthusiasm for dogecoin on Twitter — announced that he will host SNL, setting off rumors that he would mention the alt-coin. However, when Musk ended up poking fun at dogecoin instead, its price quickly plunged to less than 50 cents.

“Let’s be honest. It’s a media coin influenced by its hype,” says Saqib Iqbal, a crypto enthusiast and forex market analyst at FXStreet, a forex website.

How high will dogecoin go?

Dogecoin reached a high of about 74 cents in May 2021, before dropping to about 14 cents by the end of the year.

In January 2022, dogecoin spiked by about 9% after Elon Musk announced Tesla would accept it as payment for some of its merchandise.

In spring 2022, the AMC movie theater chain announced that it would accept dogecoin as payment for online concessions and ticket purchases. The dogecoin community has been encouraging McDonald’s to accept dogecoin, but the effort has been unsuccessful so far. Very few mainstream retailers accept dogecoin for payments.

More from Money:

Coinbase for Beginners: A Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Cryptocurrency on a Popular Exchange

8 Best Crypto Wallets of 2023

6 Best Crypto Exchanges of 2023

© Copyright 2023 Money Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This article originally appeared on Money.com and may contain affiliate links for which Money receives compensation. Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s alone, not those of a third-party entity, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed. Offers may be subject to change without notice. For more information, read Money’s full disclaimer.