Dogecoin's $80 billion valuation now makes it bigger than these 10 well-known companies

• Dogecoin's 13,000% rally in 2021 has made the meme-based cryptocurrency worth $80 billion.
• These 10 well-known companies are now worth less than a shiba inu-inspired cryptocurrency.
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Dogecoin, a meme-inspired cryptocurrency that was started as a joke in 2013, is now worth $80 billion after a gravity-defying year-to-date rally of more than 13,000%, based off of Wednesday afternoon prices.

The rally in Dogecoin was initially 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.

Now, traders are bidding up Dogecoin even higher, potentially in anticipation of Musk's hosting of Saturday Night Live this weekend. Even some congressman have gotten in on the dogecoin craze, with house member Mark Green disclosing that he purchased the cryptocurrency earlier last 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, based off of Wednesday afternoon prices.

1. Nio

Ticker: NIO
Market Cap: $60.8 billion

2. Colgate-Palmolive

Ticker: CL
Market Cap: $$68.0 billion

3. Moderna

Ticker: MRNA
Market Cap: $68.2 billion

4. Activision Blizzard

Ticker: ATVI
Market Cap: $$69.4 billion

5. Norfolk Southern

Ticker: NSC
Market Cap: $$72.4 billion

6. Dell Technologies

Ticker: DELL
Market Cap: $75.0 billion

7. Sherwin-Williams

Ticker: SHW
Market Cap: $75.8 billion

8. Duke Energy

Ticker: DUK
Market Cap: $76.6 billion

9. CSX Corporation

Ticker: CSX
Market Cap: $77.3 billion

10. General Motors

Ticker: GM
Market Cap: $78.8 billion