What would you think if someone today created a new cryptocurrency, and it was very obvious from the start that it was intended to be satirical? A lot of people probably wouldn’t even give it a second thought. But when it comes to Dogecoin, the Internet embraced it.
Even today it’s still a widely used, traded, and community supported cryptocurrency. It’s available on almost every exchange, and is supported by a number of popular multi-asset wallets.
So read on as we go over how and where to buy Doge coin and below we have more about the history, present, and future of this silly yet highly effective cryptocurrency.
Where to Buy Dogecoin DOGE
This section is our top picks of where and how to buy the Dogecoin Crypto token. We chose these based on our experience of using them and considered fees, security, payment options and reputation.
- eToro: Our Top Pick & Easy to Use Platform
- Binance: Largest Crypto Exchange with Low Fees
- Coinbase: Highly Regarded and Easy to Use for Beginners
- FTX: Great Exchange for Newbies & Advanced Users
- Kraken: Top Platform With High Liquidity
Visit The Top Pick
eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal.
eToro: Easy to Use Platform
eToro is the one of the best exchanges to purchase crypto coins & tokens. It is one of the most popular social trading platforms in the investment space. This exchange gives traders and investors full access to trade over 78 crypto assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and many more.
The broker’s user-friendly interface and simple layout is appealing to investors with no prior knowledge of crypto trading. To begin a trading journey on eToro, investors have to create an account. With a minimum deposit of as little as $10, US and UK-based investors can purchase tokens and other crypto assets seamlessly.
Investors also enjoy zero fees on all USD deposits, including debit card deposits. However, there is a standard fee charge of $5 on all withdrawals, a 1% flat fee for every completed trade on the platform, and a $10 inactivity fee charged monthly after an investor fails to trade for a year.
The broker offers seamless deposit methods that range from bank transfer and direct crypto deposits to debit/credit card and payment processors like PayPal. Although all USD deposits are fee-free, all bank transfer deposits have a fixed minimum of $500.
Another major feature that makes eToro stand out is its impressive CopyTrader feature. This integration enables novice investors to find well-experienced traders on the platform and copy their trade strategies to earn when they earn.
In terms of security, eToro scales to the top as it features two-factor authentication (2FA) protocol, advanced encryption, and masking technologies to secure all users accounts. eToro accepts users in over 140 countries and is regulated by top financial authorities like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CYSEC). The exchange is also registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Pros
- Overall best social trading platform to buy
- User-friendly interface
- CopyTrader and CopyPortfolio
- Highly regulated broker
Cons
- Charges an inactivity fee
- Charges a withdrawal fee
eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal.
Binance: Reputable Exchange with High Liquidity
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency trading exchange in daily trade volumes. The exchange offers investors full access to trade over 600 crypto assets.
The renowned platform also features a well-detailed learning curve and advanced trading tools that support well-experienced traders and investors looking to learn how to buy different cryptos. Although Binance features a user-friendly interface that facilitates a great user experience, it is more suited for well-experienced traders.
Read: Our Full Binance Review Here
Binance has a minimum deposit of $10. This enables investors to kickstart their investing journey with low fees. Investors can also initiate deposits through seamless payment methods like wire transfers, credit/debit cards, peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, and other e-wallet solutions.
Binance deposits come with a fee that varies based on the payment method used. For instance, the global exchange charges a standard fee of up to 4.50% for all deposits made with a debit/credit card.
All investors enjoy very low fees when trading on Binance, as it charges a standard trading fee of 0.1%. For investors that buy using Binance token (BNB), a discount of 25% on trading fees will be applied.
In addition, investors can rest assured that their funds and data are well protected whenever they trade on Binance. The broker features top-notch security measures like two-factor authentication (2FA), cold storage to keep most coins, whitelisting, and advanced data encryption to protect funds and data. Binance functions effectively in over 100 countries and has a spin-off regulated platform (Binance.US) that tends to US-based traders and investors.
Pros
- Trading fees at 0.01%
- High liquidity
- Wide range of payment methods
- 600+ crypto assets in library
Cons
- Interface is suited for advanced traders
- US-based customers cannot trade most coins via its subsidiary
Coinbase: Simple & Easy to Use Exchange
Coinbase is also a great option for investors looking for how to buy the crypto seamlessly. The US-based crypto trading platform enables users to buy, sell, and stake cryptocurrencies with zero complexity.
Coinbase integrates a user-friendly interface that simplifies crypto trading. The crypto trading platform supports well over 10,000 blockchain-based assets.
Read: Our Full Coinbase Review Here
The exchange’s signup and verification process take less than 10 minutes. For traders looking to invest easily, Coinbase is a great alternative to Binance.
Coinbase has a minimum deposit of $2, the lowest minimum deposit in the market presently This exchange also offers a wide range of deposit methods like automated clearing house (ACH), Wire transfer, debit card, and e-wallet solutions, as well as cashouts in local currencies like USD, GBP, and EUR. Coinbase charges up to 3.99% for debit card deposits.
Investors enjoy a 4% cash back reward whenever a Coinbase debit card is used for crypto purchases.
For fees, Coinbase charges a competitive fee of 0.5% - 4.5% depending on the payment method, cryptocurrency type, and transaction sizes.
Coinbase has evolved from a traditional exchange to a versatile platform with great services dedicated to retail and institutional investors, such as an in-built exchange wallet, self-issued cash back visa card, staking, derivatives, asset hubs, ventures, and many more.
Furthermore, Coinbase has in-built security practices like 2FA verification as an added security layer to investors’ usernames and passwords, crime insurance that secures digital assets from theft and fraud, and many more.
Also, Coinbase is licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and regulated by top financial authorities like Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS).
Pros
- Beginner-focused
- Licensed and reputable platform
- Insurance in case of hacks
- Low minimum deposit
Cons
- High fee compared to competitors
- No credit card deposits for US customers
FTX: A Top Exchange
FTX is one of the very best exchanges to purchase coins & tokens. It is a leading centralized multi-assets exchange that offers derivatives, volatility products, NFTs, and leveraged products. FTX also supports the most commonly traded cryptocurrencies.
Read: Our Full FTX Review Here
FTX’s wide range of tradable assets and user-friendly desktop and mobile trading platforms attracts all types of crypto investors from all levels, including newbies to well-experienced professionals. With support for over 300 cryptocurrencies for spot trading, FTX has one of the strongest bases of coins.
FTX does not have a minimum deposit balance. Maker trades on FTX costs between 0.00% and 0.02%, while taker fees costs between 0.04% and 0.07%. There is also a $75 charge for any withdrawals less than $10,000. Deposit channels vary from bank wire and bank instant deposits to debit/credit card to wire transfer and other methods like silver exchange network (SEN) and signature SIGNET.
FTX implements two-factor authentication (2FA) protocol for security when signing up for a new account. Additional security features include sub-accounts with configurable permissions, withdrawal address and IP whitelisting, and Chain analysis to monitor any suspicious activity. Also, this exceptional broker maintains its own insurance fund. All these security integrations are by standard requirements.
FTX operates in several countries, and US-based traders can use FTX.US — a fully regulated subsidiary that enables seamless trading services to residents of the United States of America.
Pros
- Large selection of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets
- Very competitive fees
- Great trading platforms
- Offers crypto derivatives
Cons
- FTX.US has limited coins
Kraken: Top Crypto Platform with High Liquidity
Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the oldest and most popular cryptocurrency exchanges currently in operation.
The exchange has built a reputation as being a secure destination for anyone interested in trading cryptocurrencies and it is also a popular choice for both traders and institutions across a variety of locations.
Read: Our Full Kraken Review Here
Kraken retains an international appeal and provides efficient trading opportunities in numerous fiat currencies. Kraken is also the current world leader in terms of Bitcoin to Euro trading volumes.
Kraken is most well known for its Bitcoin and Ethereum to cash (EUR and USD) markets; however a wide range of both fiat and cryptocurrencies are tradable on the platform
Pros
- Dedicated service for institutions
- Great for beginners to use
- High trading liquidity
Cons
- The lengthy ID verification process
Cryptocurrency as satire?
Created back in December 2013 by creators Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, the currency was originally intended for two main purposes. Arguably, the primary purpose of Dogecoin was to act as a satirical commentary on the sudden explosion and ridiculous valuations of the new currencies coming out at that time.
Back in 2013, all sorts of random and debatably pointless cryptocurrencies were created and had million-dollar market caps after just a few days online. One of those was “BBQ Coin“, which at one point had a market cap of nearly $8 million, and is now effectively worth nothing.
The second goal was to create a currency that was fun and more readily accessible than the dominant bitcoin. Dogecoin was also designed to have a very large supply in the hundreds of billions so that each individual unit would always have a low price. Other intentions for the currency were to be used as an online tipping currency, such as for Reddit comments or YouTube videos, among other things.
The creators of Dogecoin used the popular Doge meme as the name and symbol for the new cryptocurrency. Word of the currency spread quickly through the Internet thanks to an innovative guerrilla marketing campaign using the characteristics of the Doge meme. This usually involved a picture of the Doge character alongside various broken English sentences that often took the structure of “much something”, “very something”, “such something”, “wow”. For example, “such crypto, many coin, very currency, wow” or something like it.
Dogecoin technology and economics
Dogecoin was created as a fork of Luckycoin, which itself was a fork of Litecoin. Therefore, Dogecoin contains a number of characteristics that are similar to Litecoin but not identical. For example, it uses the Scrypt algorithm which was originally designed so that bitcoin ASICs could not mine it. Of course, Scrypt ASIC miners exist today, but that was not the case back in 2013. Dogecoin also has a shorter block time than Litecoin.
Dogecoin was designed to have a very large supply, for the express purpose of keeping the currency accessible.
As a result of the low cost of the individual tokens, transaction fees are also significantly lower than other competitors. Typically less than one cent or so is all that it takes to send a transaction. Further, Dogecoin transactions are very fast and confirm quickly.
Dogecoin has recently seen a fast rise in price, as of Feb 2021 it trades for around 3cents, it did hit as high as 7cents after a huge pump in price after going viral on TikTok, Twitter and other social media sites.
What are people using it for?
Dogecoin is interesting because although it was meant to be satirical and just for fun, it has become an important mainstay in the cryptocurrency world. Due to its incredibly low transaction fees and fast transaction times, as well as relatively stable value, some traders are using it as a means of exchange.
For example, if someone wants to withdraw money from a cryptocurrency exchange, it may be very expensive to do so if the currency is in bitcoin. Therefore, some traders may choose to first trade their bitcoin for Dogecoin and then withdraw their currency as Dogecoin before later converting again into something else.
Some use it purely for speculation since the price of each unit is so low. It’s possible to purchase many millions of units without spending a fortune, and any small price increase can lead to reasonable market gains.
Dogecoin is also very widely accepted at almost every major exchange as well as several instant exchange services such as Shapeshift and Flyp.me. Because Dogecoin is integrated into Shapeshift, it can be used to pay for a wide variety of services and goods that have the Shapeshift API built-in.
The future of Dogecoin
Dogecoin has fallen on hard times more than once in its history. A highly divisive incident involving a cryptocurrency exchange followed by a massive theft resulted in many Dogecoin fans becoming disaffected, and abandoning the currency.
As well, Dogecoin was removed from the Exodus wallet because Exodus claimed Dogecoin is not being developed and lacks several important updates.
“Although we love the Dogecoin community…the development seems to have gone stale with not many updates to key components we need. The last release of Dogecoin core was in Nov of 2015. Unfortunately Exodus is built on support from public Insight servers and Dogecoin does not have the latest updates to Insight. We have asked around and it does not seem this is going to happen anytime soon.”
But what Dogecoin has going forward, however, outweighs its downsides. It is still accomplishing the original goals that it was set out to accomplish back in 2013. It is still a low-cost, easy to acquire, friendly and welcoming cryptocurrency. The Dogecoin community is especially quite famous for its friendliness and willingness to help new users. Dogecoin supporters are often seen giving out small amounts of the currency in order to encourage others to adopt it and understand it.
While the Doge meme may be all but forgotten for many, for the true believers, it is still a wide-reaching and effective symbol that unites the masses under a unified banner of solidarity. As waves of new users join cryptocurrency every day, many of them will inevitably use Dogecoin to get started, and of those, some will certainly stay and support the community and the currency for the foreseeable future.
How to Buy Dogecoin on Binance
This broker offers low fees, high liquidity, a wide range of crypto offerings, top-notch security, and in-built wallet functionality. To get started seamlessly, follow these detailed steps:
eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal.
1. Sign Up
Visit eToro and click on the ‘Start Investing’ visible in the middle of the home page. This will redirect the investor to a registration page where they must enter a username, email address, and a strong password.
They can skip this process and sign up by connecting to a Google or Facebook account.
2. Verify ID
As a regulated broker, eToro requires that investors complete a know-your-customer (KYC) process on eToro. This process enables them to unlock this broker's full trading features and functionalities. To get started, click on the newly created profile icon and proceed to select the ‘Verification’ icon. Once done, upload a valid ID card. This could be in the form of a driver’s license or any government-issued identity card.
Investors will also be asked to submit a recent utility bill or bank statement to validate their addresses.
3. Deposit Funds
Once the verification process is complete, investors can proceed to initiate a deposit on their newly created eToro account. Click on the action tab, select ‘Deposit Funds’, choose a payment channel, and input the investment amount.
Investors in the UK and US can invest with a minimum deposit of $10 with cards and a minimum deposit of $500 for bank transfers. Once done, tap on the ‘Deposit’ icon to place an order.
Dogecoin Wallets
Software Wallet
Hot wallets, also called software wallets, are one of the most popular cryptocurrency storage options. They are always online, hence the affiliation with the ‘hot’ tag. Investors can easily get a hot wallet once they open an account with a crypto exchange. This allows them to store and manage their private keys, which prove their ownership of their assets to the blockchain network. Hot wallets are usually more convenient for everyday crypto transactions and can be custodial or non-custodial.
A custody wallet is responsible for storing assets to an exchange or a third-party platform. The user only places an order for a transfer or receipt, and the exchange signs off on the transaction, much like the traditional banking system. Meanwhile, a non-custodial or self-custody wallet gives the full responsibility to the end-user.
Hot wallets are usually free, but they are largely considered less secure due to their constant internet connectivity. An instance of a hot wallet is the Binance Wallet.
Hardware Wallet
A Hardware wallet is a device which has been created to provide an extra layer of security when interacting with your various cryptocurrency wallets.
Normally you would use your private key to move funds, the problem is though, if your computer has been compromised with malware or a virus, it is possible for your private keys to be captured and used to steal your funds.
With a hardware wallet, the private keys are stored on the device and never exposed to your computer, which means even if you are infected with such a program your private keys will remain safe. These options are safest way to store your crypto if you have more than a small amount.
Popular examples of cold storage offerings are the Ledger and Trezor line of hardware wallet solutions, read our reviews:
Mobile wallet
A mobile wallet is essentially a hot wallet on a smartphone device. They offer users an even more convenient way to use their coins for daily activities. Mobile wallets store and manage users' private keys while enabling them to pay for things they love with their digital assets.
These wallets are usually free and always online for transactions to be processed. Popular mobile wallets are eToro Money Wallet and Coinbase Wallet.
Desktop wallet
A desktop wallet is a PC version of a hot wallet. It is essentially software that an investor downloads into their personal computer or laptop for easy interaction with their digital coins. They also offer a browser extension which allows users to interact using an extension instead of downloading the entire software. Desktop wallets are also hack-prone due to their online nature. A popular example is the Exodus Wallet.
Paper Wallet
The paper wallet is arguably the oldest form of crypto wallet. They are no longer common in the modern crypto industry. It contains users' public and private keys. The paper wallet is the least secure type of wallet as it can easily be lost, stolen, or torched.
