Dogecoin’s $50 billion valuation now makes it bigger than these 10 well-known companies

• Dogecoin’s 7,199% rally in 2021 had made the meme-based cryptocurrency worth $50 billion.
• These 10 well-known companies are now worth less than a shiba inu-inspired cryptocurrency.

Dogecoin, a meme-inspired cryptocurrency that was started as a joke in 2013, is now worth $50 billion after a gravity-defying year-to-date rally of 7,199%.

The rally was sparked by a series of tweets from Elon Musk earlier this year, as well as from Snoop Dogg, Gene Simmons, and Guy Fieri. An overall increase in demand for crypto among investors following bitcoin’s surge to more than $60,000 and the direct listing of crypto-exchange platform Coinbase likely also helped support the continued rally in dogecoin.

Even some congressman are getting in on the dogecoin craze, with house member Mark Green disclosing that he purchased the cryptocurrency earlier this month.

Dogecoin differs from bitcoin in that there is no hard limit on the total supply of coins. Bitcoin has a fixed supply of about 21 million coins, of which not all have been mined yet. Dogecoin on the other hand has more than 129 billion coins outstanding, with 5 billion in new coins hitting the supply every year.

Even the founder of dogecoin, Billy Markus, can’t make sense of the surge in the coin he started as a joke. Markus told The Wall Street Journal in February, “The idea of dogecoin being worth 8 cents is the same as GameStop being worth $325, it doesn’t make sense.”

Markus sold all of his dogecoins in 2015 and used the proceeds to purchase a Honda Civic, as even he couldn’t foresee the outsized influence a shiba dog would have on people’s investment decisions.

Dogecoin’s unlimited supply and the bewilderment of its founder hasn’t stopped investors from piling into the meme token, making it now more valuable than these 10 well-known companies.

1. Ross Stores

Ticker: ROST

Market Cap: $46.0 billion

Ross Stores. Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images2. Walgreens Boots Alliance

Ticker: WBA

Market Cap: $46.4 billion

© Associated Press FILE – In this June 25, 2019, file photo signage hangs outside a Walgreens pharmacy in downtown Cincinnati. Walgreens reports financial results on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) Associated Press3. Las Vegas Sands

Ticker: LVS

Market Cap: $46.8 billion

© Raymond Boyd/Getty Images The Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino signage in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 9, 2017. Raymond Boyd/Getty Images4. Kimberly-Clark

Ticker: KMB

Market Cap: $47.0 billion

© Amphol Thongmueangluang/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The toilet paper fully stocked at a supermarket during the corona virus pandemic. Amphol Thongmueangluang/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images5. CrowdStrike

Ticker: CRWD

Market Cap: $47.7 billion

Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The logo of cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images6. Ford

Ticker: F

Market Cap: $48.0 billion

© Associated Press Workers build Ford F-150 trucks at one of the automaker’s assembly plants. Associated Press7. Carvana

Ticker: CVNA

Market Cap: $48.5 billion

© Business Wire A Carvana automobile vending machine. Business Wire8. Marriott

Ticker: MAR

Market Cap: $48.6 billion

© Nickolas Sargent The Ritz-Carlton in Miami Beach, Florida. Nickolas Sargent9. Doordash

Ticker: DASH

Market Cap: $48.7 billion

© Carlo Allegri/Reuters A delivery person for Doordash rides his bike in the rain during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 13, 2020. Carlo Allegri/Reuters10. Roku

Ticker: ROKU

Market Cap: $49.9 billion

© Sean Locke / EyeEm / Getty Images Roku hits 50 million active accounts. Sean Locke / EyeEm / Getty Images