Blockchain developers QED Protocol and Nexus are preparing to launch a layer-2 (L2) scaling solution designed to bring smart contracts to the Dogecoin network, according to a Sept. 26 announcement.
The planned L2, a zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM), aims to “enable the world’s oldest and most popular memecoin network to compete in the smart-contract realm with the likes of Ethereum and Solana,” QED and Nexus said in a statement.
Dogecoin operates on a proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain network similar to Bitcoin’s but with less computationally intensive transaction verifications and no upper limit on total Dogecoin (DOGE) supply. Dogecoin does not support smart contracts.
Launching a high-throughput zkEVM on Dogecoin will help “to make the world’s foremost memecoin network ‘STRONKer than all the others,’” QED and Nexus said.
Source: Dogecoin
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In 2024, the memecoin market became one of the fastest-growing sectors in the crypto space.
Smart contract platforms for memecoins are often highly profitable, with Solana’s Pump.fun surpassing $100 million in revenues in August.
The Dogecoin zkVM aims to “include tools that empower developers to create a wide variety of high-performance applications on the network that could include everything from decentralized exchanges to NFTs,” according to the announcement.
Initially launched in 2013 as a satirical commentary on Bitcoin (BTC), DOGE now commands a total market capitalization of approximately $17 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. DOGE is widely considered the first “memecoin” but is also used for micropayments and tipping.
QED protocol has already developed a zkVM scaling solution on the Bitcoin network designed to support smart contracts and low-latency transactions. Nexus operates Nexus zkVM, a modular scaling network using zero-knowledge proofs.
Scaling solutions settling on PoW blockchains such as Bitcoin are proliferating. According to data from DefiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) on Bitcoin’s L2s surged to approximately $1.4 billion in September.
“What we are doing with Dogecoin can certainly be replicated in other ecosystems… thanks to recent breakthroughs in zero-knowledge technology,” said Daniel Marin, Nexus’ CEO.
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