Dogecoin vs. Bitcoin: Key Technical Differences

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Dogecoin and Bitcoin are two of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world today. DOGE is currently worth over $29 billion in market cap, while BTC sits atop the pyramid with over $2.2 trillion.

Both DOGE and BTC are fundamentally set up differently, but they also happen to share some history.

The first takeaway that comes to mind on Dogecoin vs Bitcoin is that one is a memecoin while the other is a better store of value. But do you also know that Dogecoin is a derivative of Litecoin, which itself was created from Bitcoin’s codebase?

Starting with a quick overview of Bitcoin and Dogecoin, in this article, you’ll see how both coins differ in speed, fees, supply, etc., and why DOGE may never flip BTC.

Overview of Bitcoin vs Dogecoin

Satoshi Nakamoto started it all when he/they created Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency. Then came Litecoin, XRP, Dogecoin, and other cryptos years later.

Bitcoin

Satoshi introduced Bitcoin’s white paper in 2008, and it officially launched in 2009.

The original idea in the white paper was for Bitcoin to serve as a decentralized digital currency for peer-to-peer online payments that works without relying on banks or governments. That narrative has somewhat shifted, with many now considering BTC as a store of value.

Some even call it “digital gold” due to its fixed, finite supply. However, Bitcoin’s protocol remains true to its original trustless roots, no matter how investors choose to use it.

Dogecoin

Dogecoin was created from Litecoin’s codebase, and so they closely share some similarities.

DOGE was launched by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer in 2013 as a parody. But it turned out to become the first and largest “memecoin,” with a whole community of investors.

The coin’s logo was inspired by Kabosu, a Shiba Inu dog from Japan, which died in May 2024.

Since DOGE was only made as a joke, the founders stepped away from the project a few years after its inception, selling their coins and leaving its maintenance to the community and other developers.

DOGE later went on to gain traction following the 2017-2018 bull run and Elon Musk’s influence.

Shared History

Dogecoin’s history can be traced back to Bitcoin. Its network structure is not original. For instance, DOGE shares the same decentralized model and Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism as BTC. That’s because of Litecoin.

Charlie Lee forked Bitcoin’s codebase in October 2011, creating Litecoin to address perceived flaws. As a result, LTC inherited BTC’s PoW, although it uses a different algorithm than BTC.

Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer then forked Litecoin’s codebase two years later to birth Dogecoin, creating a lineage with Litecoin and Bitcoin.

Consensus Mechanism and Mining

Dogecoin and Bitcoin both use the same Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism, which requires mining. But their hashing algorithms are quite different.

Bitcoin – Proof-of-Work

Bitcoin uses the Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit or SHA-256 algorithm, which is more computationally demanding.

SHA-256 requires specialized hardware to solve hash problems, which is why most miners today use advanced machines, especially ASIC miners, to mine new Bitcoin.

The upside is that SHA-256 is much difficult to reverse-engineer or manipulate. But it’s very expensive to practice, which raises the entry barrier for small miners.

Dogecoin – Proof-of-Work

Dogecoin uses the Scrypt algorithm, which it inherited from Litecoin.

Scrypt is a more lightweight algorithm that originally accommodated GPU/CPU users, but some Scrypt ASIC exists today. It is memory-hard, meaning it requires a large amount of fast RAM to compute hashes, allowing for faster processing and lower energy use.

Dogecoin’s use of Scrypt made it possible for miners to mine DOGE and LTC coins at the same time, i.e., merge-mine.

Energy Consumption and Mining Efficiency

DOGE and BTC consume a considerable amount of energy, owing to their PoW mechanism. But the total energy used by Dogecoin is much lesser compared to Bitcoin.

Reports put it that Dogecoin uses 1.4TWh to 4TWh of energy per year amid the merge-mining with Litecoin. Meanwhile, Bitcoin mining consumes anywhere from 114 TWh to 220 TWh per year, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) estimate.

Block Time and Transaction Speed

DOGE transactions are 10x faster than BTC transactions due to the block time.

Bitcoin – 10-Minute Block Time

Satoshi programmed the Bitcoin network to maintain an average block time of 10 minutes.

The reason was to give new blocks enough time to propagate across the globe and also reduce the chance of orphan blocks, and stop spam/attacks.

The 10-minute rule is enforced by the network’s “difficulty adjustment,” which happens every 2 weeks. It can take about 10 to 60 minutes for BTC payments to get confirmed, depending on the network’s traffic.

Dogecoin – 1-Minute Block Time

Dogecoin has a 1-minute block time, and because of that, DOGE transactions are usually faster.

The shorter block time was deliberately chosen for near-instant micropayments, which suits the memecoin’s ethos for casual tipping. However, the quicker block time gives more chances for orphan blocks and front-running/spam transactions.

Transaction Throughput and Confirmation Times

Dogecoin accommodates more transactions than the Bitcoin network because of its shorter block time. It can process approximately 30 to 40 transactions per second.

However, Bitcoin can only handle 3 to 7 transactions per second, which is one scalability issue that led to the launch of the Bitcoin Lightning Network, which can handle 1 million transactions per second.

Supply and Inflation Model

Dogecoin and Bitcoin differ in their supply. DOGE has an inflationary model, while BTC is fixed.

Bitcoin – Fixed Supply of 21 Million Coins

BTC’s supply is fixed at 21 million, meaning only that much coin will ever be minted. The supply is hardcoded into the network and cannot be changed without forking the network, just like Litecoin, which changed its hard cap to 84 million.

At the time of writing, there were a total of 19.93 million BTC in circulation.

The issuance of new BTC is controlled by the process of mining and halving. New coins are minted to miners as a block reward, currently 3.125 BTC/block. The reward is halved every four years to control the issuance rate.

The last halving event happened in April 2024, which reduced the block reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. It is projected that all 21 million BTC would have been mined around the year 2140.

Dogecoin – No Supply Cap

DOGE has an inflationary supply, meaning there will always be a continuous supply of new DOGE coins. There is simply no hard cap.

Each year, a fixed number of 5 billion DOGE is issued and added to the circulating supply. At the time of writing, there were over 151 billion DOGE in circulation, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Economic Implications: Scarcity vs Continuous Issuance

Bitcoin’s fixed supply creates a sense of scarcity, which is why it’s generally considered a store of value and digital gold in today’s market.

It’s also safe to say that the economics of scarcity, coupled with demand, are why many are predicting higher prices for Bitcoin in the years to come.

But this is bad in a way, because it encourages people to hodl BTC rather than use it as a digital form of payment, just as Satoshi had intended.

Dogecoin’s inflationary supply, on the other hand, dampens its scarcity, which dilutes the expectation of value growth or store of value from hodling. The model encourages quick spending, and so, the price of DOGE mostly rides on its utility, network adoption, and community engagement.

Transaction Fees and Accessibility

As you would have guessed, Dogecoin also beats Bitcoin in terms of transaction fees. It’s much cheaper to use DOGE than BTC.

Bitcoin Fees – Network Congestion and Cost Volatility

Data shows Bitcoin currently has an average transaction fee of 0.0000062 BTC ($0.679).

The fees are usually not fixed. But they can be influenced by the transaction size, or most likely, network congestion. The network can become unusable for small transactions when busy.

In April 2024, the Bitcoin transaction fee spiked to as high as $128 due to congestion of the network. In 2023, the largest exchange, Binance, had to pause BTC withdrawals due to network congestion and exorbitant fees.

Dogecoin Fees – Lower Fees for Microtransactions

The average Dogecoin transaction fee is 0.402 DOGE ($0.079), according to BitInfoCharts. That’s almost 10x cheaper than Bitcoin.

Due to the lower fees, Dogecoin is preferred for smaller payments and microtransactions.

In a practical scenario, many would most likely spend DOGE as payment for $5 cup of coffee or tipping, rather than spending BTC, because it is cheaper.

Ideal Use Cases

The use cases for both Bitcoin and Dogecoin write themselves.

People mostly use DOGE for tipping content creators, buying small digital goods, and everyday, small-scale transactions, simply because the transactions incur fewer fees, irrespective of the amount. Also, you don’t have to wait too long for an instant digital payment.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, is scarce. Most people treat it as an investment, a store of value, and a hedge against inflation. It appeals to both institutional and retail investors around the world.

Security and Network Strength

Since Bitcoin and Dogecoin both use the PoW consensus mechanism, the strength of their networks is tied to their hash rates.

Bitcoin’s Massive Hash Rate and Global Miner Network

Bitcoin has a massive number of hash rates distributed around the world. Currently, the network sees an average hashrate of 1.13 Zhash per day, slightly below the 1.2667Zhash all-time high.

The hash rate is just a measure of the combined computational power miners are contributing to the network.

So, more hash rate means more strength and resilience in Bitcoin against attacks, particularly the 51% attack, where a single entity controls over half the network’s hashing power to manipulate the ledger.

Another important thing to note is that the hashrate is not concentrated in one region. It’s spread around the world, which keeps the network decentralized.

Dogecoin’s Reliance on Litecoin Merge Mining for Security

Dogecoin currently has a hash rate of 3.41 PH/s, according to CoinWarz.

On a normal ground, Dogecoin’s inflationary supply is not a great financial incentive for independent miners to continue securing the network in the long run. But it makes up for this with Litecoin.

Since Dogecoin is merge-mined with Litecoin, it somewhat piggybacks off the Litecoin network’s substantial hash rate.

That tie ensures that as long as Litecoin is secured, Dogecoin receives strong security too, against a 51% attack, than it would on its own.

Long-Term Security Considerations

For Bitcoin, the block reward is the key thing to watch. As the network is programmed to halve rewards every four years, it would get to a point where miners earn fewer BTC, which could affect profitability.

Many could be forced to turn off their machine when the cost of mining exceeds the reward, which translates to lower hash rates and security for Bitcoin.

For Dogecoin, the Litecoin network hash rate is the health factor to watch. Provided that the hash rate continues to increase, Dogecoin remains secure.

Community and Use Cases

The Bitcoin and Dogecoin communities contrast sharply, and they invest for different reasons.

Bitcoin’s Role as Digital Gold

As mentioned before, Bitcoin is perceived as the digital gold. So, the community around Bitcoin is all about investing for the long term as a store of value or hedge against inflation and devaluing local currencies.

They believe that the engineered scarcity of Bitcoin will eventually lead to higher price appreciation.

On-chain data shows that roughly 61% of the Bitcoin supply has not been moved for over a year. Up to 17% have not moved over the last 10 years.

Dogecoin’s Community-Driven Adoption

The Dogecoin community is all about memecoin. DOGE has inspired several other meme tokens that now form a $56 billion market.

Other than its uses for micropayment, tipping, and regular day-to-day payment, DOGE continues to thrive on virality and largely the community’s effort.

The power of the so-called “Doge Army,” social media hype, and cultural relevance have been the big drivers of DOGE price over the years. Not just DOGE. Most memecoins are driven by community efforts.

Institutional Acceptance and Market Positioning

Due to the economic models, Bitcoin appeals more to large corporations and institutional investors than Dogecoin, which is evident in the number of firms that hold BTC in their treasury today.

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) is the largest publicly traded Bitcoin firm in the world, with a total of 640,250 BTC, worth $71 billion. The company began investing in Bitcoin in 2020 primarily as a hedge against inflation.

More than 145 publicly traded companies now hold BTC for similar reasons. In the same vein, Bitcoin also sees increased demand with ETFs.

Institutional interest in Dogecoin is limited and mostly speculative. However, in September 2025, DOGE gained its first U.S. spot ETF, which opens the door for institutional investors to trade DOGE.

Price Volatility and Market Perception

Bitcoin is increasingly being perceived as a maturing asset, with the swings now influenced by macro factors. But as a memecoin, Dogecoin largely trades as a speculative bet.

Bitcoin as a Macro Asset

Some years back, Bitcoin was treated as an extremely volatile and speculative asset, which saw many regulators issue warnings against it.

In recent times, however, Bitcoin’s price has been reflecting a maturing asset status, with institutional investors on board. The price is now largely influenced by global economics, behaving like a risk-on hedge, like tech stocks or gold during uncertainty.

Dogecoin as a Speculative or Social Token

The market perception of Dogecoin is mostly as a speculative social token or memecoin rather than a macro asset. In that category, it would be the go-to for many investors considering its dominance.

However, Dogecoin’s price remains highly volatile. It’s often driven by market sentiment, social media trends, and community enthusiasm, rather than technical developments or macroeconomic factors.

Influence of Public Figures

The former CEO of Strategy, Michael Saylor, has been a big influencer, so to speak, for Bitcoin.

Ever since he led the company into investing in Bitcoin, Saylor has been vocal about Bitcoin as a superior asset against inflation. He participated in several crypto conferences and continues to tweet about the largest crypto almost every day.

For Dogecoin, it was Elon Musk who played a similar role. The price of DOGE soared on several occasions after the world’s richest man tweeted or praised the memecoin.

DOGE also went on a massive rally after Musk acquired Twitter, in the hope that the social media app would incorporate DOGE as a tipping and payment coin.

Technical Comparison Summary Table

The table below summarizes the fundamental differences between Dogecoin and Bitcoin.

Feature	Bitcoin (BTC)	Dogecoin (DOGE)
Launch Year	2009	2013
Consensus	Proof-of-Work (SHA-256)	Proof-of-Work (Scrypt)
Block Time	10 minutes	1 minute
Supply Limit	21 million	Infinite (5B/year inflation)
Fees	Higher	Lower
Mining	Independent	Merge-mined with Litecoin
Use Case	Store of value	Peer-to-peer payments

The Future of Bitcoin and Dogecoin

As the crypto market continues to gain broader acceptance from institutions, with many firms declaring their digital asset treasuries, Bitcoin will become a more pronounced player in global finance, and we could see Dogecoin explore more utility-driven developments.

Bitcoin’s Role in Institutional Finance

The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs drew massive institutional flow to Bitcoin. The U.S. President is now pushing to allow 401(k)s to invest in Bitcoin. Major banks like JPMorgan are looking to allow clients to trade Bitcoin by next year.

All these indicate that institutions are opening up to Bitcoin, and in the years ahead, the largest crypto will become more and more involved in Wall Street and global markets.

Dogecoin’s Evolution Through Community and Developers

Dogecoin could begin to see institutional inflows from the many ETFs in the pipeline and companies announcing their digital asset treasuries.

We could also see the Dogecoin community and developers explore more utility projects, just like they did with the launch of Dogechain, a layer 2 network aimed at bringing smart contracts into the Dogecoin ecosystem.

Potential Integration into Payments (e.g., X/Twitter)

There is also a big possibility that Elon Musk will eventually add support for DOGE as a payment option on X (formerly Twitter).

There have been rumors about this. Musk occasionally replied to comments referencing Dogecoin in a payment context on X, but there have not been any official statements to confirm that it will happen.

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