Dogecoin (DOGE +0.12%), the dog-inspired cryptocurrency that currently carries a market cap of $22 billion, is up by almost 94,000% in the past 10 years (as of Dec. 19). Despite that impressive overall performance, its volatility along the way has been stomach-churning, making it a difficult asset to hold. But some daring investors might be ready to buy after its slump this year.
I'm not one of those people. Here are three reasons I will never buy this meme coin.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. It's not solving a real problem
One of the most obvious reasons to avoid Dogecoin is that a valid argument can be made that it doesn't actually solve any problems. While people can use the tokens to send peer-to-peer payments or buy from a relatively limited number of merchants online, those are tasks that can be handled easily by a host of conventional financial services and payment tools.
Just because Dogecoin has no meaningful utility that differentiates it, that doesn't necessarily mean it's worthless. Its value rests in its community, as its supporters have kept Dogecoin relevant over time. It helps that the richest person in the world, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is a major supporter. When he has mentioned the token publicly in the past, it has driven excitement about it.
Yet as we look toward the next decade, I wouldn't bet on the community doing much to drive Dogecoin's price higher. In fact, the community might be ready to move on. The token's price is down 61% so far in 2025 and is 82% below its peak.
2. Developer activity is uninspiring
Ethereum is the world's largest programmable blockchain, as it allows for smart contracts and has a detailed product roadmap that supports development on it. At last count, Ethereum had around 4,000 full-time developers working on it, according to data from Electric Capital. This stacks the odds in its favor to introduce useful features.
When it comes to developer activity, Dogecoin is 81st on the list of the top 100 cryptocurrencies, with a total of 23 full-time developers. Consequently, there isn't much in the innovation pipeline that can move Dogecoin forward.
CRYPTO: DOGE
Key Data Points
3. The better long-term crypto investment opportunity is clear
When allocating capital with a five- or 10-year time horizon, a fantastic way to start is by filtering for the highest-quality assets. In the wild world of cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin isn't in the same galaxy as Bitcoin. Bitcoin has a fixed lifetime supply cap, while Dogecoin's supply is uncapped. Bitcoin's market cap of $1.8 trillion underscores the deep liquidity it has.
Bitcoin's also penetrating the traditional financial services industry, and has become a globally recognized asset, with larger pools of capital getting involved. The fact that Bitcoin still has substantial long-term potential for growth while also being a safer bet than Dogecoin is yet another reason I will keep avoiding the meme coin.
