What Is Dogecoin, How to Say It, and Why It’s No Longer a Joke (Thanks, Elon!)

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk won’t stop tweeting about Dogecoin. Rapper Snoop Dogg put online a mock album image captioned “Snoop Doge.” And Gene Simmons, co-founder of the rock band Kiss, calls himself the “God of Dogecoin.”

So, what is dogecoin, and why are people so excited about it? We’ve got answers to your questions about the cryptocurrency that has the internet abuzz.

First things first: How do you pronounce “dogecoin”?

According to the cryptocurrency’s co-founder Billy Markus, the correct pronunciation is “dohj coin.” Some prefer to pronounce the first syllable like “dog” or “doggy.”

What is dogecoin?

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that literally started as a joke in 2013. It is a satirical homage to bitcoin, designed to serve no real purpose other than generating a few laughs.

It is named after an internet meme centered around the image of a Shiba Inu dog with bad spelling habits—thus “doge” instead of “dog.”