By co-founding the first meme coin of the internet, Billy Markus, aka Shibetoshi Nakamoto, made his mark on the crypto space with Dogecoin. The software engineer never expected such an idea to blow up and become his primary source of income. But now, his creation is worth over $26 billion in market cap.
Billy Markus’ Net Worth
With only about 129 billion Dogecoins in existence, Markus could own at least one percent of the project as one of its creators. However, when it comes to his net worth, he has not publicly disclosed it yet. There is also no concrete evidence to state the exact figure. Markus’ Net Worth is estimated to be between $1 to $5 million as of 2021.
Early Life
Billy Markus was most likely born in the late 1980s or early 1990s in Oregon, USA. Information about his actual birth date and location are uncertain, but he was born around this time, according to estimations.
The gifted man has been interested in computers since a young age. And, according to him, he and Dogecoin co-founder Jackson Palmer have been pals since childhood, both having the same enthusiasm for technology.
Working As a Software Engineer
Before becoming one of the most influential names in the crypto industry, Markus first had a career as a software engineer. He worked for the computer hardware company IBM.
He appears to be dissatisfied with his IBM employment, preferring to focus on side projects, the majority of which are cryptocurrency-related. This sparked the concept of what we know today as Dogecoin.
Creating Dogecoin
Markus connected with his friend Jackson Palmer on Twitter and joked, “Investing in Dogecoin, pretty sure it’s the next big thing.” Then, on December 8, 2013, Markus and Palmer, avid meme and online culture fans, decided to create their very own digital currency. Yes, it all started out as a joke.
The small team of two decided Dogecoin would be ideal against the context of cryptocurrencies’ shady reputation at the time because it was created around community and humor.
Palmer bought the domain Dogecoin.com, inserted the coin’s iconic logo and a generic Comic Sans typeface, and then handed the project to Markus to finish. Using his knowledge as a software engineer, Markus leveraged Luckycoin and Litecoin as a basis for Dogecoin.
Becoming an Influencer
Markus shifted his priority to social media and cryptocurrencies in June 2014, just seven months after the birth of Dogecoin. And as fate would have it, his social media campaigns aligned with the dramatic rise in popularity of the meme cryptocurrency. Dogecoin’s popularity soared after its inception, with over a million visitors to its platform in the first month.
However, he and Palmer decided to leave Dogecoin in the same year it was created, saying that the crypto community was not very welcoming to their unconventional achievement.
But the good news is, Billy Markus is now back. Seven years after his separation from the foundation he built, Shibetoshi Nakamoto is back on the web to do what he loves most once again.
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