Hitting $1 Might Help Dogecoin Drop its "Joke Currency" Rep—But Founder Says it's Unlikely

Dogecoin (DOGE) has caught investors’ attention since Tesla CEO Elon Musk endorsed it. Amid the search for the next crypto to explode, investors are eager to know Dogecoin's price prediction. Could DOGE hit $1 in 2022?

To assess whether DOGE can reach $1, you should look at the factors that could take it up or pull it down. It's also important to understand how meme cryptos work.

Dogecoin is best recognized as the cryptocurrency that stemmed from an online joke and rose to become a serious rival to Bitcoin. Many DOGE fans still refer to it as the “joke currency.” The altcoin, created by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus, trades on major exchanges such as Coinbase.

Musk has called DOGE his favorite crypto. The electric vehicle billionaire hasn’t offered his Dogecoin price prediction, but he thinks that the altcoin has great potential as a payment for everyday transactions. Musk’s Tesla accepts DOGE payments for certain product purchases, and Musk is an investor in the meme crypto, along with Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Cryptocurrencies tend to boom and bust, and that cycle can be more pronounced in meme cryptos. Despite Dogecoin pulling back from its all-time high, early investors are still sitting on excellent returns. The crypto has returned more than 5,000 percent over the past three years and 55,000 percent over the past five years.

In addition to Musk’s tweets, DOGE has benefited from its growing adoption for payments. You can use the crypto to purchase products and services from dozens of merchants online, and more big brands are joining that list.

Besides Tesla, other major brands supporting the crypto include Newegg, Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks, AirBaltic, and auto dealer Post Oak Motor Cars. There's also an online campaign to bring Amazon on board, which could be a significant boost for DOGE.

Dogecoin reaching $1 is a long-desired milestone for its fans. Many believe that hitting that milestone could make more people take DOGE seriously. There have been multiple efforts to drive DOGE to $1. For example, the Dogecoin community has raised thousands of dollars to sponsor Olympics athletes and a Nascar driver. However, the highest DOGE has attained is $0.74.

Recently, DOGE founder Billy Markus went on Twitter to respond to a photo of the coin's climb to $0.0740052. The caption of the photo said, "Can't wait to see this again." Markus took to the comments and tweeted, "Might never see it again. 2021 was a weird f**king year, and dogecoin was swept up in the dystopia." An investor responded that crypto was dead, to which Markus retorted, saying, "Crypto is the same as always, people are more negative and thus the previous hype cycle is dead."

One investor outright told Markus that he was being too negative regarding Dogecoin, pointing out that Markus usually says no one can predict crypto. Other investors agreed with this take, writing off Markus's view as "too pessimistic."

Once Dogecoin hits $1, it could separate itself from the meme crypto flock and attract more long-term investors. Attaining that milestone could also draw funds from rival meme cryptos such as Shiba Inu, Mongoose, and Grimacecoin.

Although DOGE was a pioneer in meme cryptocurrencies, its team still hadn’t taken advantage of many opportunities that rival projects have seized on. Specifically, while Shiba Inu was quick to get into DeFi, NFTs, and the metaverse, Dogecoin mostly focused on building its community.

However, the capability to mint NFTs has now been enabled on Dogecoin's network. Furthermore, the crypto's shift to the more energy-efficient proof-of-stake structure could attract climate-conscious investors and improve DOGE transaction speeds. DOGE could be worth significantly more in the future as the project expands and diversifies.