Every week, Benzinga conducts a survey to collect sentiment on what traders are most excited about, interested in or thinking about as they manage and build their personal portfolios.

This week we asked 1,000 Benzinga readers on why they bought the popular meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin (Crypto: DOGE).

What Is Dogecoin?

Dogecoin was introduced as a joke in 2013 to help raise public awareness of the capabilities of blockchain technology. 

The cryptocurrency’s mascot, the Shiba Inu, is based on the “doge” internet meme.

Though Dogecoin was originally intended as a joke, it’s gaining momentum in 2021 thanks to its vibrant and passionate online community. 

A brief history of the cryptocurrency reveals Dogecoin has been involved in a number of highly public news stories, including its successful $50,000 fundraiser to send the Jamaican Bobsled Team to the 2014 Winter Olympics after they qualified but did not have the financial backing to attend.

Why Are Traders Buying Dogecoin?

So, why are traders and investors flocking to Dogecoin? Many respondents to our study cited the celebrity influence for their decision to jump in and buy the cryptocurrency. 

Earlier this month, our team covered all the celebrities who’ve publicly backed Dogecoin, including OnlyFans star Mia Khalifa, who spoke to ZingerNation earlier this month, discussing Dogecoin and other meme stocks she bought during the GameStop saga in January.

A large group of respondents said that accumulating a large number of Dogecoins can be done for a pittance compared to the likes of Bitcoin (Crypto: BTC) and Ethereum (Crypto: ETH), this was their chance to invest and get their feet wet in a cryptocurrency when they otherwise haven’t before.

Dogecoin was trading at $0.054 at the time of publication, off its all-time high of $0.087.

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