Dogecoin (DOGE 4.55%), which was launched as a meme-based parody of Bitcoin (BTC 2.28%) in 2013, has been a wildly volatile token. It had an earliest trading price of $0.0002, soared to a record high of $0.74 in May 2021, but now trades at about $0.28.
Over the past 12 months, Dogecoin's price has rallied more than 170% as Bitcoin's price rose less than 100%. Investors might be reluctant to chase Dogecoin after those massive gains, but this canine-themed token could be worth buying before 2026 for four simple reasons.
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1. The Fed's first interest rate cut of 2025
The Federal Reserve finally cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points (from a range of 4.25% to 4.50% to 4.00% to 4.25%) on Sept. 17. That marked its first rate cut of 2025. It's penciling in two more rate cuts by the end of the year, which would put it on track to match its three rate cuts in 2024, and it should make at least one rate cut in 2026. Those lower interest rates should drive more investors toward riskier investments like cryptocurrencies, and that rising tide could propel Dogecoin and its meme-driven peers to new heights.
2. Dogecoin ETFs are coming
Several crypto firms -- including Grayscale, Bitwise, and 21Shares -- submitted their applications for Dogecoin spot price exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this year. The SEC is expected to approve or reject those submissions between this October and next January.
But REX-Osprey -- a partnership between REX Shares and Osprey Funds -- recently launched its first Dogecoin-backed ETF without that full SEC approval. It accomplished that by structuring it under the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("40 Act"), which allows it to trade on the CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange) with a much shorter SEC approval process. All of these new ETFs could stabilize Dogecoin's price by attracting more investors. They could also help it evolve from a meme coin into a more reliable "blue chip" cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Ether (ETH 2.28%) -- which both saw their first spot price ETFs launch last year.
3. Its developer ecosystem is expanding
Dogecoin, like Bitcoin, is still mined with the energy-intensive proof of work (PoW) mechanism. But unlike Bitcoin, which is deflationary with a maximum supply of 21 million tokens, it's inflationary with nearly 150 billion tokens in circulation without a supply cap. Therefore, Dogecoin can't be valued by its scarcity or dubbed "digital gold" like Bitcoin.
Unlike Ethereum and other proof of stake (PoS) blockchains, Dogecoin doesn't support smart contracts, which are used to develop decentralized apps (dApps). Without that foundation, Dogecoin can't be valued by its growth potential as a developer platform. But that perception could shift as Dogechain, a new Layer 2 solution built on Polygon's blockchain, tethers more dApps and crypto assets to Dogecoin's token. That improved utility, along with its new ETFs, could drive its price a lot higher.
4. The first Dogecoin treasuries
Last but not least, CleanCore Solutions, a producer of ozone cleaning products, has accumulated more than 500 million Dogecoins since the beginning of September to build its "Official Dogecoin Treasury." It plans to increase that position to 1 billion Dogecoins this month, with a long-term goal of acquiring about 5% of its entire circulating supply (currently at 7.5 billion Dogecoins).
CleanCore launched that project through a partnership with House of Doge, the official corporate arm of the Dogecoin Foundation. That wildly ambitious move, which mirrors Strategy's massive Bitcoin purchases over the past five years, might convince other companies to build their own Dogecoin treasuries.
This speculative coin could keep climbing
Dogecoin will remain riskier than Bitcoin or Ether for the foreseeable future. But these recent developments -- along with Elon Musk's tendency to drive up the token's price with random tweets -- suggest it could soar a lot higher over the next year. It shouldn't be a core holding in your portfolio, but it might be worth nibbling on before the end of 2025.
