Since Ethereum and Dogecoin merged, Bitcoin is now the largest proof-of-work cryptocurrency, with Dogecoin coming in second.
Following the Ethereum network’s proof-of-stake (PoS) update on Thursday, the cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE), which was inspired by memes, is now the second-largest proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrency in terms of market cap.
Popular meme coin Dogecoin continues to have a significant lead over Monero (XMR), which has a market cap of $2.65 billion, Litecoin (LTC), with a market cap of $4.01 billion, and Ethereum Classic (ETC), which is in third place among peer-to-peer (PoW) cryptocurrencies. Of course, Bitcoin (BTC) still has a significant advantage over Dogecoin.
Who would have believed that this would happen, a Dogecoin supporter said in the apparent surprise of the cryptocurrency’s ascent to the second-largest PoW market cap. Bravo, #Dogefam!
However, not everyone found it to be favourable. In reply to a tweet announcing the announcement, one Twitter user highlighted the need to remove “useless coins” from the public’s perspective by questioning how they could take the cryptocurrency sector seriously with a meme coin so close to the top spot.
According to the official Twitter account of ETHPoW (ETHW), the Ethereum PoW hard fork chain that will continue mining, Dogecoin may soon find itself in competition with ETHPoW (ETHW), which is presently trading at $13.64 according to CoinMarketCap.
The transition by Ethereum to a PoS consensus mechanism may have increased pressure on PoW-powered cryptocurrency networks to make a similar approach.
Lachlan Feeney, the founder and CEO of the Australian-based blockchain development company Labrys, said in a statement to Cointelegraph that “the burden is on” Bitcoin right now to sustain the PoW method in the long run.
“Reluctance to carry out its own shift to PoS will be tremendous,” he continued.
Since September 2021, when Ethereum co-founder and adviser Vitalik Buterin first hinted about the possibility of switching Dogecoin to a proof-of-stake protocol, the Dogecoin Foundation has been exploring the opportunity.
The Dogecoin Foundation published their Dogecoin Trailmap in December 2021, outlining plans to create a Dogecoin “community staking” variant that mirrored PoS.
According to the Dogecoin Foundation, “Such a version would enable all Dogecoin users to stake their DOGE and earn more tokens for supporting the network.”
However, the Dogecoin website indicates that not much has changed since then and that it is still listed as a “proposal.”
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