28. May 2023

Dogecoin Denies Rumors of Switching to Proof-of-Stake (PoS)

-The developers of Dogecoin have denied rumors that the network is immediately switching to proof-of-stake (PoS).
-Michi Lumin, Principal Engineer for the Dogecoin Foundation, stated that the Dogecoin Foundation does not have the power to upgrade the network without the consent of validators.
-The denial comes after the Rabid Mining YouTube channel published a video on Dec. 28 titled “What if Dogecoin Moves to PoS?”

On December 29th, the developers of Dogecoin, a digital asset and cryptocurrency, released a statement denying rumors that the network is switching to proof-of-stake (PoS). The denial was made after the Rabid Mining YouTube channel published a video on Dec. 28 titled “What if Dogecoin Moves to PoS?” The video was shared on Twitter and Reddit with the suggestion that the Dogecoin team was going to “kill scrypt miners”.

Michi Lumin, Principal Engineer for the Dogecoin Foundation, made the statement repudiating the rumors. In his statement, he explained that the Dogecoin Foundation does not have the power to upgrade the network without the consent of validators. He went on to say that it is not possible for, nor is it planned for, an individual, organization, or body to “move” or “shift” or “change” the Dogecoin network to PoS. All that can be done is to outline a proposal and given to the community (and validators) to decide to take up or not.

Lumin concluded his statement by saying that the repeated sensationalist outcry of people saying that Dogecoin “is moving to PoS” is ridiculous and absolutely not how it works or can work. It will not and can not be done by edict, or force.

Dogecoin is currently using a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm, meaning that miners need to solve computationally difficult puzzles in order to add new blocks to the blockchain. PoS is a consensus algorithm that does not require miners to solve puzzles, rather it requires validators to stake their coins in order to reach consensus. Switching to a PoS consensus algorithm could potentially reduce the amount of energy used to mine Dogecoin.

The Dogecoin team has yet to decide whether or not they will switch to PoS, but they have said that they will be releasing a proposal in the near future. Until then, the fate of Dogecoin remains uncertain.