Dogecoin Was Initially a Joke, but DOGE Mining Is Becoming Increasingly Serious

At the Mining Disrupt conference, vendors told Decrypt that Dogecoin mining has become a profitable alternative to Bitcoin mining, with small businesses benefiting from it.

Elon Musk's favorite cryptocurrency made a comeback at the end of last year, as retail investors returned to the market to buy Dogecoin. This token, launched as a joke in 2013, has existed for years and maintained a certain level of recognition.

But how serious is the business of mining this original "meme coin"? According to vendors at the Mining Disrupt conference held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this year, people are actively purchasing mining machines for mining.

Although the conference primarily focused on the mature Bitcoin mining industry—dominated by large listed companies and supported by President Trump—cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Litecoin (LTC) also rely on Proof of Work (PoW) mining, maintaining their blockchain networks by rewarding miners.

In fact, these mining machines for alternative PoW cryptocurrencies often mine multiple coins simultaneously, a technique called "merged mining," which can help miners increase their earnings. Vendors stated that miners from individuals to listed companies are showing interest in this method to generate additional income.

"ElphaPex's Business Development Director Payne Cong said: 'Mining DOGE or LTC can help miners maximize their income.'"

Alan Martinez from mining machine manufacturer JSBIT told Decrypt that miners can potentially earn up to $750 per month using an almost silent mining machine to mine DOGE. Large mining enterprises are also showing strong interest in these "money-printing machines".

"We are in talks with some Nasdaq-listed companies who are very interested," he said.

A typical example is that last year, Nasdaq-listed company VivoPower (VVPR) announced that its subsidiary Caret Digital would begin mining Dogecoin and Litecoin.

According to CoinWarz data, miners currently earn $5.83 per day mining DOGE with one machine, while using the same equipment to mine Bitcoin yields an average daily profit of $9.41.

US-listed mining company BIT Mining stated in December last year that mining DOGE brought higher returns compared to Bitcoin. As mining difficulty increases and Bitcoin prices fluctuate, small miners find Bitcoin mining increasingly challenging.

DOGE has attracted a group of passionate followers partly because Tesla CEO and current Trump advisor Musk has frequently mentioned the coin on X (formerly Twitter). Previously viewed as a joke, its value subsequently began to rise significantly.

Musk recently expressed appreciation for Dogecoin's tokenomics. DOGE has an unlimited supply, with 10,000 new coins minted every minute, and the tech billionaire believes this makes it more suitable as a currency, unlike Bitcoin, which is primarily viewed as "digital gold". Due to Bitcoin's limited supply, many see it as a store of value rather than a currency worth spending like cash.

However, large mining enterprises have not yet massively invested in DOGE mining, at least not for now. Martinez told Decrypt that small businesses remain the primary customers, such as cafe and office building owners.

He gave an example of an unnamed coffee chain that has deployed DOGE mining equipment in six stores, almost treating it as a side business while also recycling the heat generated during the mining process.

"Don't turn on the heater—turn on the mining machine," he said about the additional benefits of DOGE mining, "When was the last time your heater made money for you?"