Forget Bitcoin - now Dogecoin goes wild

You know an investment is somewhat unconventional when the Know Your Meme website is the main source of background information.

But even in the turbulent world of cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin is seen as a pretty wild creature.

It was launched in 2013, inspired by a short-lived online craze for pictures of a particular Japanese dog breed.

Last weekend, however, it nearly doubled in value and is now worth more than $2bn (£1.5bn).

Dogecoin had been gaining steadily all through December, but the latest spike has prompted howls of "crypto-hype" from sceptics.

Granted, it's still well behind the biggest beast in the digital currency pack, Bitcoin, which has a total value of more than $270bn.

But given that Dogecoin was initially intended as a parody of the Bitcoin boom, its founder, Jackson Palmer, is none too happy now that it has slipped its leash.

"The fact that most conversations happening in the media and between peers focus on the investment potential is worrying," he said earlier this month.

Backing underdogs
Until its recent rise in value, Dogecoin was little known beyond a small coterie of geeks.

But in sporting circles, the cryptocurrency's backers have gained a reputation for some unorthodox sponsorship choices.
In 2014, US stock car racing became a surprise beneficiary, when members of the Dogecoin community decided to give a helping hand to Nascar driver Josh Wise, donating $55,000 worth of the digital currency.

That same year, Dogecoin backers raised $25,000 to send the Jamaican bobsleigh team to the winter Olympics.

Sporting underdogs have clearly done well out of Dogecoin, but what about investors? Will they be barking up the wrong tree if they buy into the currency?

Well, one thing to bear in mind is that dogecoins are far more numerous than bitcoins.

The rules underpinning Bitcoin say that only 21 million bitcoins can be created - and that figure is getting ever nearer. It is unclear what will happen to the value of bitcoins when that limit is reached.