Doge
“A photograph learned to talk, and it never shut up.”
This article is about the internet meme. For the original Solana memecoin, see Samoyedcoin ($SAMO).
Doge is an internet meme built around a photograph of Kabosu, a Japanese Shiba Inu, paired with broken-English internal-monologue captions set in multicolored Comic Sans. It became one of the defining memes of the early 2010s and later lent its image and name to Dogecoin, one of the first and most enduring 'joke' cryptocurrencies.
Origin
The meme centers on Kabosu, a female Shiba Inu born around November 2, 2005, who was rescued from a puppy mill and adopted in 2008 by Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato. Sato posted photos of Kabosu to her personal blog in 2010, including the now-iconic side-eye shot of the dog with raised eyebrows. The intentionally misspelled word 'doge' itself predates the photo, appearing as early as a June 2005 episode of the Homestar Runner puppet series. The image and the Comic Sans inner-monologue caption style (an evolution of earlier formats like LOLcats) coalesced into the recognizable meme over the early 2010s, spreading through Tumblr blogs such as 'Shiba Confessions' and Reddit.
Spread
After a few years of quiet circulation, Doge exploded in popularity in 2013, characterized by phrases like 'such wow,' 'much scare,' and 'very [adjective]' layered over the photo. The format was named Know Your Meme's top meme of 2013 and became ubiquitous across social media, merchandise, and brand marketing. Its mascot-like appeal and instantly readable format made it one of the most widely recognized memes of the decade.
Legacy
Doge's most consequential legacy is financial: in December 2013, software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer created Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency using Kabosu's face as its logo, originally as a lighthearted satire of the speculative Bitcoin boom. Dogecoin went on to become a top-tier cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fueled in part by endorsements from Elon Musk. The original Doge photo was sold as an NFT to the collective PleasrDAO on June 11, 2021, for 1,696.9 ETH (about $4.2 million), then the most expensive meme NFT ever. Kabosu died on May 24, 2024, at age 18, prompting widespread tributes across internet and crypto communities.
The Chain Trail
The OG token for this meme is Samoyedcoin ($SAMO) on Solana, launched 2021-04. MemePedia tracks 4 Doge tokens in total across Solana.
Key facts
- The dog in the meme is Kabosu, a female Shiba Inu born around November 2, 2005, adopted by Atsuko Sato in 2008.
- Sato first posted the photos to her blog in 2010; the meme format matured and went viral in 2013.
- Captions are written as broken-English internal monologue in multicolored Comic Sans ('such wow,' 'much [x]', 'very [y]').
- Doge was named Know Your Meme's top meme of 2013.
- Dogecoin (DOGE) launched in December 2013, created by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer as a satire of crypto speculation, using Kabosu's image.
- The original Doge photo sold as an NFT for ~1,696.9 ETH (~$4.2 million) to PleasrDAO on June 11, 2021.
- Kabosu died on May 24, 2024, at age 18.
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The tokens that claim Doge
Every token we can tie to this meme, and which contract appeared first. The original is marked OG; the rest arrived to ride the name.
| # | Coin | Price | 24h | Market Cap | Liquidity | Launched |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Samoyedcoin $SAMO | $0.000201 | +1.14% | $1.15M | $73.65K | Apr 1, 2021 |
| 2 |  Bonk $BONK | $0.00000295 | +0.28% | $259.29M | $120.34K | Dec 25, 2022 |
| 3 | MY Myro $MYRO | $0.000123 | +0.23% | $123.13K | $137.30K | Oct 1, 2023 |
| 4 |  Duko $DUKO | $0.0000389 | +3.55% | $389.03K | $136.20K | Feb 1, 2024 |
Combined live market cap for Doge: $260.95M across 4 coins. Market data is live from DexScreener; figures are not investment advice.
The on-chain receipts for $SAMO (the OG contract), pulled straight from the chain.
On-chain report
via helius · updated 1d agoHeld by the top 10 wallets.
- 1. Samo…oooo12.20%
- 2. u6PJ…Xq2w5.23%
- 3. Burn…ooon5.05%
- 4. EFE3…ewqR4.80%
- 5. JD2y…16ho3.90%
- 6. AB4r…Y9gy3.16%
- 7. 2Ejn…Ps3e3.12%
- 8. C68a…dqyo2.89%
- 9. HFWv…A8Y62.37%
- 10. EzpY…35Uv2.18%
- Top 10 wallets hold 44.9% of supply — moderately concentrated.
- Deployment predates the scanned history — earliest date is a lower bound.
Facts pulled directly from the chain via Solscan-grade data. Not financial advice.
The deep investigation. Deployer and wallet maps, contract migrations, bundles, supply concentration, and every project that falsely claimed to be first, with archived sources and a full chronological record.
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