Nick Navis

The story starts back in 2013 with a guy named Jackson Palmer. Palmer was an Australian product manager at a tech company, and he believed that there was something fundamentally useful about what crypto promised to do. But when he looked around at some of these speculative new cryptocurrencies, he saw that people seemed to be using crypto as a kind of cash grab.

Basically, some people were running what are known as pump-and-dump schemes.

Basically, some people were running what are known as pump-and-dump schemes.

Basically, some people were running what are known as pump-and-dump schemes.

As Palmer looked around, he thought crypto was turning into kind of a joke. So why not turn it into an actual joke? He described how he came up with the idea in an interview with our daily podcast, The Indicator, back in 2018.

As Palmer looked around, he thought crypto was turning into kind of a joke. So why not turn it into an actual joke? He described how he came up with the idea in an interview with our daily podcast, The Indicator, back in 2018.

As Palmer looked around, he thought crypto was turning into kind of a joke. So why not turn it into an actual joke? He described how he came up with the idea in an interview with our daily podcast, The Indicator, back in 2018.

Doge, you may remember, was this super popular internet meme built around the image of a dog, a quizzical-looking Shiba Inu. And it was paired with these kind of grammatically challenged captions like, such wow and much amaze.

Doge, you may remember, was this super popular internet meme built around the image of a dog, a quizzical-looking Shiba Inu. And it was paired with these kind of grammatically challenged captions like, such wow and much amaze.

Doge, you may remember, was this super popular internet meme built around the image of a dog, a quizzical-looking Shiba Inu. And it was paired with these kind of grammatically challenged captions like, such wow and much amaze.

For Palmer, Dogecoin was an attempt at convincing the crypto-curious to make more rational investment decisions. But instead, the good people of the internet decided to pull a giant, irreverent yes-and to Palmer's joke coin. They started buying more and more of them. Palmer was surprised, and at first he went along for the ride.

For Palmer, Dogecoin was an attempt at convincing the crypto-curious to make more rational investment decisions. But instead, the good people of the internet decided to pull a giant, irreverent yes-and to Palmer's joke coin. They started buying more and more of them. Palmer was surprised, and at first he went along for the ride.

For Palmer, Dogecoin was an attempt at convincing the crypto-curious to make more rational investment decisions. But instead, the good people of the internet decided to pull a giant, irreverent yes-and to Palmer's joke coin. They started buying more and more of them. Palmer was surprised, and at first he went along for the ride.

He and a community of fellow crypto jokesters donated their increasingly valuable Dogecoins to charity. And for a while, things were going well.

He and a community of fellow crypto jokesters donated their increasingly valuable Dogecoins to charity. And for a while, things were going well.

He and a community of fellow crypto jokesters donated their increasingly valuable Dogecoins to charity. And for a while, things were going well.

In the years that followed its creation, Dogecoin ended up spawning dozens of copycat cryptocurrencies or copied Doge's, I guess, in this case. But the number of these new meme coins was still limited by the technical expertise someone needed to make one. You needed to be able to essentially copy and tweak Bitcoin's underlying code.

In the years that followed its creation, Dogecoin ended up spawning dozens of copycat cryptocurrencies or copied Doge's, I guess, in this case. But the number of these new meme coins was still limited by the technical expertise someone needed to make one. You needed to be able to essentially copy and tweak Bitcoin's underlying code.

In the years that followed its creation, Dogecoin ended up spawning dozens of copycat cryptocurrencies or copied Doge's, I guess, in this case. But the number of these new meme coins was still limited by the technical expertise someone needed to make one. You needed to be able to essentially copy and tweak Bitcoin's underlying code.

What do you do when you're not digging into the smarmy back corners of the crypto world?