Dogecoin-mania continues unabated. The following short article, reposted from Ihavebitcoins.com, argues that it could lead to a surge in the gift economy. Read on…

In a recent blog post on CoinDesk, Brett Scott introduced the idea that cryptocurrencies could have a major impact on the rise of a gift based economy. At the fore of this gifting culture is the unlikely aspirational hero that is Dogecoin, the meme based Shiba Inus dog touting cryptocurrency. The Shibe community on Reddit recently raised $33,000 to send the Jamaican bobsled team to the Sochi Olympics. This tremendous feat is a testament to the power of people coming together to give whatever small amount they can to make a difference. And it’s just one example of shibes showing their support for the underdog.

While most people are bitching on Facebook and Twitter about the various things that irk them, sharing shocking pictures of dehorned rhinos and animals with makeup on, these people are backing the causes they care about with actual money. Taking the sort of action that’s often missing from Facebook and Twitter social activism. But at its core, the Dogecoin community is not about charity. It’s not about making fun of cryptocurrencies. Looking past the Comic Sans font and the very much wowness, Dogecoin is a culture steeped in cooperation, backed by a group of people who believe in helping others out.

Gifting Dogecoin, generally by tipping, was most likely popularized by Reddit’s dogetipbot that allows users to make easy transfers to others as a way of showing appreciation. While this isn’t something new to cryptocurrency and Bitcoin has similar systems in places, Shibes are the ones making the most transfers by a longshot. Much like the digital high five of the future, this application of gifting could lead to a whole new environment online. Quick and easy unregulated micropayments that anyone can make, may be exactly what the mainstream needs to start using cryptocurrency.

The Shibe community has set the sort of light-hearted, laid-back, positive and helpful example we could all benefit from following as we move forward into ever-uncertain economic times.

To the moon indeed!