Dogecoin, the popular meme-inspired cryptocurrency, saw a slight 0.8% price increase over the past 7 days. Its price surged to $0.06204 on September 17, 2023, up from $0.06154 just a week ago. This article will analyze the key Dogecoin metrics and trends over various timeframes to derive insights into the cryptocurrency's performance.

Dogecoin currently has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, making it the 10th largest cryptocurrency. Its 24-hour trading volume stands at $92.31 million, indicative of decent liquidity. Over the past hour, Dogecoin has seen a minor 0.07% increase, though it is down 0.07% over the past 24 hours.

The weekly 0.8% gain shows Dogecoin staging a mild recovery after a prolonged downtrend. Over the past month, Dogecoin has shed 7.27% of its value amidst a broader cryptocurrency sell-off. Expanding the timeframe further, Dogecoin has plunged 18.67% over the past 6 months.

The initial meme-fueled hype that propelled Dogecoin’s meteoric rise in early 2021 has cooled off significantly. Dogecoin is now caught within the throes of the ongoing “crypto winter” that has gripped digital asset markets since the terraUSD stablecoin collapse.

However, Dogecoin continues to see decent on-chain activity. According to data from CoinMarketCap, Dogecoin averages over 40,000 transactions per day, showing that it maintains relevance as a payments-focused cryptocurrency. Elon Musk’s vocal support for Dogecoin also helps maintain engagement, even if his tweets do not have the same price impact as in 2021.

Will Meme Fever Help Dogecoin Recover By 2024?

Dogecoin’s identity as a meme coin has proven to be a double-edged sword. Memes helped fuel Dogecoin’s popularity and price gains in 2021, but meme hype tends to be ephemeral.

However, internet culture closely tied to memes will likely persist over the long term. If Dogecoin can sustain cultural relevance as a meme-inspired cryptocurrency, it may be able to stage a recovery when market conditions improve. Younger retail traders closely engaged with internet culture could once again drive up Dogecoin demand.

The key is whether Dogecoin can evolve beyond just being a meme. Efforts to improve Dogecoin’s utility as a functional cryptocurrency used for payments and transactions will help broaden its appeal beyond just memes. If the Dogecoin community can lead fruitful development efforts, Dogecoin could experience significant growth by 2024.

Will Increasing Utility Help Dogecoin Stage a Turnaround?

As a payments-focused cryptocurrency, Dogecoin will need to boost its real-world utility to facilitate mainstream adoption. Two key aspects that require improvement are transaction speeds and cost.

Currently, Dogecoin has a 1 minute block time, which is relatively slow compared to networks like Solana. Lowering block times can help Dogecoin better compete with fast and low-cost payment networks like Visa.

Additionally, Dogecoin’s average transaction fee of $0.44 is quite expensive for frequent transactions like payments. Bringing down fees via technical upgrades will make Dogecoin more usable for digital payments.

If the developers can successfully implement these upgrades, Dogecoin’s utility will significantly improve. This could enable Dogecoin to be used for more real-world transactions, fueling demand and price appreciation by 2024.

Conclusion

Dogecoin has declined substantially from its 2021 highs but maintains decent on-chain activity. Meme hype appears to have cooled off, though Dogecoin’s cultural significance persists. Dogecoin will likely need to upgrade its network to boost utility as a functional cryptocurrency. If achieved, Dogecoin could rediscover growth by 2024. However, considerable risks remain amidst the ongoing crypto bear market.