Charles Hoskinson/YouTube
- Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson said dogecoin has potential for real-world use, if improved.
- The ethereum cofounder hopes Elon Musk's call to fix up the meme token will stave off its collapse.
- Dogecoin was last trading 9% lower at 24 cents on Monday, but is up about 5,164% this year.
- Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.
Ethereum cofounder and cardano creator Charles Hoskinson said in a recent podcast that he hopes Elon Musk's appeal for ideas to upgrade dogecoin will help bring more real-world value to the digital token.
"Dogecoin is a reasonable target for someone to fix it up and make it an interesting cryptocurrency," he told podcast host Lex Fridman on Friday.
After Musk called on developers to submit ideas for upgrades to the meme token last month, Hoskinson posted a video describing the challenges that come with developing a cryptocurrency like dogecoin.
"My hope is that a compromise can be made where real developers come in, and they start working on doge to create some use and utility for it, so at least it has a value floor and won't collapse," Hoskinson said in the podcast.
He predicted it could take two to three years for dogecoin to be able to function as a modern cryptocurrency.
Dogecoin's popularity has surged this year as influencers, including Musk, promoted the meme-based cryptocurrency on Twitter. Its explosive run higher isn't seen as reflecting any meaningful value, but rather as driven by buyers hoping that others will pile in and push the price of dogecoin higher, allowing earlier holders to make a quick buck by taking profits.
The digital token was last trading 9% lower at 24 cents on Monday, but it is up about 5,164% so far this year. Dogecoin has reached a market cap of $32 billion, making it the sixth-largest cryptocurrency, despite undergoing little development since its inception in 2013. It was added to Coinbase's professional trading platform in May.
Hoskinson warned that Musk's influence over dogecoin's value could end up significantly hurting retail investors unless its code-base is improved.