Dogechain & The Rise of Meme Chains
Dogecoin’s huge success has formed a foundation for many meme-related projects, with Dogechain being the latest. While it’s easy to associate Dogecoin with Dogechain, it may surprise you that the same team did not develop them.
Since its launch in August 2022, Dogechain has been a subject of public interest, controversy, and rumors. But what we’re finding more foretelling of the upcoming web 3 wave to come is the relative ease with which Dogechain was developed using Polygon Edge and what it means for other meme-related projects.
With Shibarium blockchain spinning off Shiba Inu, we may see the outright rise of meme chains. In this article, we’ll explain what Dogechain is all about, its relationship with Polygon Edge, and how they relate to other meme crypto projects.
What is DogeChain?
Dogechain is a proof-of-stake (PoS) EVM-compatible decentralized blockchain built on Polygon Edge. Dogechain bills itself as a layer-2 scaling solution that aims to bridge over Dogecoin and allow its users access to NFTs, blockchain games, and the rising DeFi ecosystem.
While its goals look promising, Dogechain’s first major credibility issue stems from the fact it wasn’t built on Dogecoin’s network, nor with any dogecoin team members. After the rumor broke out in August that Dogecoin developers were behind the Dogechain launch, Dogecoin Foundation quickly debunked the rumor distancing itself from the new coin.
According to Jens Wiechers, a member of the Dogecoin Foundation, “Claims in paid media that Dogecoin launched a ‘Dogechain’ test network is false. Neither @Dogecoin/@dogecoin_devs, nor @BillyM2k, @ummjackson, or others associated with @DogecoinFdn are in any way affiliated with the token.”
Further Reading: The Best Crypto IRAs
Dogechain, Dogecoin Airdrop
Dogechain launched its $DC token in August 202. It announced that an initial supply of its token would be 1 trillion, and 3% (30 billion) would be airdropped to early users.
The dogechain airdrop is open to dogechain users with $wDOGE in their wallet between January 8th and August 23rd, 2022. 15% of the token was released immediately, and the other 85% will be unlocked monthly for the next 12 months of its launch.
If you missed the first airdrop (and have any interest in this semi-questionable project) you’re not too late. Users of DogeChain over the next 48 months will receive 9% of the dogechain airdrop, equivalent to 90 billion units of the total $DC supply within the period.
Snapshots will be taken periodically throughout that time period and active addresses and balances will receive a pro rate portion of the distribution.
We will tell you how to bridge your true $DOGE over to Dogechain via wrappedDOGE, and thereby become eligible for Dogecoin $DC airdrops at the end of this article.
But first let’s look at how Dogechain came to be and understand a little bit about the tech behind it so we can look into what may be an up and coming trend of meme-chains, not just meme coins.
What is Polygon Edge?
Polygon Edge is an extensible and modular framework for creating blockchain in the Ethereum network. It’s a great technology whose main purpose is to provide a platform to build new blockchain networks compatible with Ethereum smart contracts and transactions.
Polygon Edge supports communication with many networks and enables transfers of ERC-20 and ERC-721 tokens using EVM bridge solutiona. It also allows users to interact with industry-standard wallets, like Metamask, trust wallet, or coinbase wallet through the JSON-RPC.
Overall the advent of Polygon Edge is positive, and an inevitable part of the growth of blockchain. Similar to how Ethereum made it easier to launch coins, Polygon edge makes building a blockchain much easier than it used to be in the past. While it’s still not by any means “easy” to build a blockchain, Polygon Edge does make it more accessible. This is a good and bad thing.
With the successful creation of Dogechain using Polygon Edge, we may see more meme chains in the news in the coming months, as more and more meme projects may look to Polygon Edge for a safe landing.
Related Reading: Aptos Blockchain Token Launch
The Rise of Meme Chains
Meme coins took center stage in 2021, during the bull market. But the meme chain has become the latest trend, with projects like Dogechain, Kekchain, Berachain, and Shibarium stealing the spotlight.
It’s still pretty early to forecast the future, but the crypto market has to gear up for more meme chains. This is troubling because a bulk of meme coins launched during the 2021 bull run were rug pulls.
Some of them are worth nothing today, apart from being avenues for pump and dumps, ripping unsuspecting crypto enthusiasts of their hard-earned money. On the positive side, the rise of meme chains will bring a level of innovation to the industry.
It’s difficult to tell what to expect. But each cycle of trends that have hit the market has contributed its quota towards wide scale adoption and general growth of the industry.
Dogechain is NOT Connected to the Official Dogecoin
First, it is important to re-iterate the point that Dogechain is not in any way connected to Dogecoin. Instead, it is a separate project that seeks to expand Dogecoin’s capabilities by offering greater utility to Dogecoin users. It does this by using their dogechain bridge, where you can wrap your $DOGE on the original dogechain and then receive wrappedDOGE on the EVM compatible Dogechain.
These wrapped doge tokens can be used for gas and other things on dogechain and having a balance of wrapped doge and transacting on dogechain is what will lead to you receiving $DC airdrops.
This is actually quite interesting. It’s almost like a form of cross-chain liquid staking. The main risk is that your true $DOGE is now susceptible to smart contract risk. It’s not to be expected, but it is possible you could lose all of your $DOGE if you can’t transfer your wrappedDOGE back over or the chain is hacked in some way.
According to a tweet by @RepeatAfterVee, Billy Markus, the co-founder of Dogecoin Billy Markus allegedly refused to promote Dogechain for a huge sum of $14 million, and he would have betrayed the fans of the meme coin if he had accepted the offer. Billy Markus’ dropped a cryptic reply under the tweet, making the rumor more believable.
Is Dogechain Good for Dogecoin?
Dogechain does give more use for $DOGE overall. By locking your DOGE to receive wrapped DOGE you are participating in a form of liquid staking, as you will be able to use your wrapped doge and still earn the $DC airdrops.
That said, there are some risks associated with locking your $DOGE in the new smart contract, bridge and ecosystem that is Dogechain.
Dogechain Proof of Stake
Dogechain’s blockchain uses the slashing protocol to protect itself from malicious activities. The slashing protocol also punishes fraudulent behavior via disciplinary actions if there’s evidence of slashing against the person.
While these safety procedures are in place, it’s plausible to suggest that Dogechain is still a relatively new project prone to instability. However, its pitfalls may not affect Dogecoin in any way, especially because the latter’s founders have clearly stated they have no affiliation with the former.
It’s a caveat that every Dogecoin enthusiast needs to take seriously and calls for caution when making investment decisions.
That said, let’s get into how you can bridge to dogechain, what you can do and your possible dogecoin airdrops.
What is the Dogechain Wallet?
Dogechain’s compatibility with EVM means that, unlike DOGEcoin, you can use any ERC-20 wallet that works with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (e.g., Metamask). MetaMask is a well-known crypto wallet. It is popular for its ease of use and ability to buy, receive and send cryptocurrency within the wallet.
How Do You Add Dogechain to Metamask?
Since Dogechain is an EVM, you can easily add it to your Metamask wallet quickly, following these two easy steps:
- Visit the DogeChain bridge official homepage.
- Choose the Connect Wallet button to automatically add the DogeChain RPC to your MetaMask wallet.
You need to switch the RPC point on your Metamask to point to Dogechain. The bridge should add the RPC automatically, but if not here are the details for dogechain:
- Network Name: DogeChain.
- Chain ID: 2000.
- Currency Symbol: wDOGE.
How Do You Bridge Doge to Dogechain?
If you want to bridge to Dogechain, you will have to connect your metamask to the official Dogechain bridge. Then send $DOGE from coinbase or crypto.com or a Doge non-custodial wallet to a $DOGE addresses given to you by the bridge.
The minimum deposit is 100 $DOGE; if you make any deposit less than 100 $DOGE, it will be lost forever.
You can follow these four simple steps to get started.
- Connect MetaMask Wallet to DogeChain.
- Click “Confirm” to see the Dogecoin deposit address you need to transfer your tokens.
- Copy the deposit address and transfer a minimum of 100 $DOGE to the wallet address.
- The protocol will wait for six network confirmations, and then you will receive the equal amount you transferred in your MetaMask Wallet in $wDoge (Wrapped Doge).
What Are Some Things You Can Do on Dogechain?
Dogechain is mainly built for Dogecoin holders so they can easily access NFTs, games, and Defi protocols and apps without revoking Dogecoin. Let’s see some of the following use cases.
1. NFTs
The ERC-721 protocol enables Dogechain users to publish their own NFTs. ERC-721 is like an upgraded version of ERC-20 and allows you to integrate your NFTs into the existing NFT landscape.
2. GameFi
You can create a DeFi universe on Dogechain. Also, Dogecoin holders can use DC and wDOGE cryptocurrencies to share digital resources or partake in virtual gaming events.
3. DeFi
Being an EVM-compatible blockchain, Dogechain is compatible with various popular crypto initiatives. For example, Dogechain allows for easy integration with DeFi protocols.
Should You Invest in DogeChain?
Dogechain is not official and highly speculative, so investing in it can pose a financial risk. Before you invest in Dogechain, make sure you do your due diligence to evaluate the risks that may come with it.
However, you may still catch some rewards as memes, no matter how official, often catch fire. Remember that this is not financial advice. So ensure you do your own research before you make a final decision.
