Interview with DoggyFi Co-founder: Building "Dogenals" on Doge, Computational Narratives on Doge's Proof-of-Work Network
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Interview with DoggyFi Co-founder: Building "Dogenals" on Doge, Computational Narratives on Doge's Proof-of-Work Network
What would happen if we introduced the concept of computation and placed data on the Doge meme?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsInterview: Sunny, TechFlow
Guest: Ash, Co-founder of DoggyFi
Translation & Editing: Bella, TechFlow
Introduction
"What are you working on?"
"We're building on Doge."
"Excuse me, Doge—the meme? Are you joking?"
You might have overheard this conversation during ETH Denver this year. Yes, you heard it right—there is indeed a team actively building on the Doge network. Why should you care? Well, if you missed the Bitcoin ordinals wave, you might want to pay closer attention to “Doginals.”
Ash and his co-founder Rashed began this new venture under an incubator called Bitcoin Startup Labs. Like any of their incubated peers, Ash and Rashed were exploring opportunities to build something on Bitcoin. Since Casey Rodarmor's experiments with Bitcoin ordinals—which essentially involve inscribing data onto the Bitcoin network, transforming Bitcoin from just a store of value—Bitcoin has gained significant traction.
Dogecoin and Bitcoin networks actually share a consensus mechanism known as Proof-of-Work (PoW), where miners compete to solve cryptographic puzzles to validate transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain. This process involves transaction validation based on the Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model, which tracks coin ownership by recording inputs and outputs for every transaction.
During incubation, Ash and Rashed identified an opportunity to build on Doge—and also realized how fragmented the Doge network truly was. It started as a meme, and its infrastructure was essentially a meme too. So what happens if we introduce the concept of computation and start placing data on top of the Doge meme? Ash asked himself… and that sparked both him and his co-founder’s passion for building on Doge, essentially transforming the meme into something more valuable than just a joke—a real store of value.
If this sounds intriguing to you, then this conversation is for you!
TechFlow: Hi Ash, can you introduce yourself and your project DoggyFi to our readers?
Ash:
I'm employee zero at DoggyFi, and my partner Rashad is employee one. We previously worked as builders in the Ethereum and Cardano ecosystems. Now, we’re planning to build a DeFi stack on Doge. That may sound odd or unconventional.
TechFlow: Why did you choose to build on Doge? What’s your story?
Ash: People often ask us, “Why did you choose to build there?” Fundamentally, both I and Rashad come from traditional finance backgrounds. Later, we transitioned into DeFi developers; I’ve worked on projects within Ethereum and Cardano. Eventually, we both recognized the potential in exploring new frontiers for development. We were particularly interested in different platforms, with obvious candidates like Solana and Sui. But these felt too predictable to us.
We had the chance to attend an event at Stanford, where we met Albert. He was about to launch Bitcoin Startup Labs and was looking for DApps to join. He suggested we apply to their incubator, which seemed more favorable in terms of terms and conditions compared to other programs like Y Combinator (YC). Given our interest in building on Bitcoin, we decided to apply to their incubator instead of applying to YC or similar accelerators.
To our delight, we were accepted into the incubator. There, we explored various UTXO stacks and quickly realized the immense potential for building in this space. This encouraged us to aim for full ownership of the value stack. After further exploration, we found that Doge, closely related to Bitcoin, offered a viable platform for DeFi tools—more so than ordinals or Bitcoin L1 itself. Despite its utility, the Doge ecosystem appears largely undeveloped, presenting a $26 billion market waiting for innovation.
So we started our project about two and a half months ago, and now we’re about two weeks away from launching on testnet—which is very exciting.
TechFlow: So are you strategically fixing the Doge ecosystem?
Ash:
Indeed, our focus is on innovation at the infrastructure and protocol level. One key insight we've had relates to DRC20s, essentially derivatives of BRC20 tokens deployed via Bitcoin ordinals. The DRC20 concept revolves around directly deploying multiple types of data onto the blockchain, enabling computation within the UTXO model without requiring traditional smart contracts.
We observed that the “Doginals” asset market operates through auction-style and stock-like trading platforms. Users buy tokens to sell them later but find themselves restricted to selling only exact quantities at preset prices. This system is starkly different from platforms like Uniswap, where users freely swap tokens and participate in liquidity pools at their discretion.
This rigid structure leads to fragmented liquidity and numerous market inefficiencies. Recognizing this, we saw an opportunity not just to innovate but to fundamentally reform the space. Our primary goal became solving these liquidity issues, making possible a range of financial products—from lending services to derivatives.
The cornerstone of our strategy is introducing exchange functionality, initially focusing on AMM-style swaps. Our commitment to openness and permissionless innovation means that after the testnet phase and ensuring system stability, we plan to open-source our technology. This will allow developers to leverage our tech stack for their own projects, such as building decentralized exchanges.
Doge’s appeal partly stems from its notorious reputation—it’s widely known as a joke, yet becomes serious when it holds $11 billion in capital. The ordinal market, active since January, now valued at $120 million, marks its legitimacy.
Historically, Doge has seen various ambitious projects, but none fully succeeded. However, last year’s emergence of ordinals opened new possibilities for computational protocols on Doge. Notably, there is a faction within Doge that resists these developments, advocating for the status quo. Yet, Rashad and I support the Red Queen Hypothesis from evolutionary biology, which suggests that continuous evolution is necessary even to maintain the current state. This perspective emphasizes the importance of adaptation and innovation to remain relevant.
We firmly believe that pursuing computational advancement is crucial to staying relevant in today’s era, encouraging experimentation and evolution beyond Doge being merely a meme or static proof of value. Embracing this computational thesis means supporting experimentation—to discover what works and what doesn’t—which is essential for progress and remaining relevant in the next stage of Web3. It’s a bold journey, but exactly the path we’re excited to explore.
We are essentially developing a decentralized application for Doge’s infrastructure. Indeed, our goal is to facilitate building within this ecosystem. By choosing to open-source our work, we aim to empower anyone interested to quickly set up and begin experimenting with innovative concepts. This approach is designed to encourage diverse ideas and solutions within the community.
TechFlow: So you mentioned two concepts—one is ordinals, the other is the computational thesis. For those unfamiliar, how are they connected? Why are they powerful?
Ash:
The computational thesis argues that within the blockchain space, networks shouldn't be limited to serving merely as stores of value—as Bitcoin has traditionally been viewed. This view challenges the notion that Bitcoin or any blockchain asset should only be treated as a commodity. Unlike Ethereum, which is not only seen as an asset but also as a foundational network enabling various applications through its “gas” system, networks like Ethereum derive their value from the ecosystem of protocols and tools built atop them.
At its core, the computational thesis calls for cultivating an ecosystem where innovation can thrive on the network. This was exemplified by Casey Rodarmor’s introduction of ordinals. Ordinals opened up a new way of thinking about on-chain data, inspiring the idea that blockchains could carry more than just transactions and simple data points. The project aimed to embed actual data, such as NFTs, directly onto the blockchain, going beyond the limitations of off-chain storage solutions. This approach opens the door to hosting a wide variety of data types on-chain—from NFTs and tokens to poetry and even entire games.
A practical example of the computational thesis in action is the recent achievement of placing the game Doom on the Doge blockchain. This development is remarkable because it demonstrates that blockchains can do more than serve as ledgers for financial transactions—they can host complex applications. This innovation not only showcases the technical capabilities of the Doge blockchain but also represents a significant step forward in the evolution of blockchain technology toward a more dynamic and multifunctional ecosystem.
TechFlow: How are you and your co-founder bringing value to Doge through “Doginals” and the computational thesis?
Ash:
We see ourselves as pioneers directly tackling the challenge of liquidity issues within the blockchain ecosystem. Our broader goal is to advance the development of a DeFi stack on the Doge platform, enhancing the overall ecosystem with high-quality tools. This improvement would not only add value but also attract developers from diverse backgrounds to consider Doge as a viable platform for innovation. It’s a rather exciting prospect.
For instance, today at a hackathon, my co-founder is deploying a bridge. This technology will enable inscription transfers between Litecoin or Bitcoin and Doge, and vice versa. Integrating swapping tools and markets within this framework unlocks unprecedented liquidity options and innovation opportunities previously unimaginable. This initiative is grounded in the capabilities enabled by the computational thesis and ordinals, both playing pivotal roles in enabling such advancements.
TechFlow: It’s quite like building a city.
Ash:
Indeed, our vision isn’t just to create an isolated domain; we aim to build an inclusive city of innovation. We’re laying the first brick, setting the foundation, but we eagerly invite others to join and build the subsequent layers. Our hope is that contributors from all walks of life will establish their own communities within this city, creating unique and cool interpretations they find compelling. This collaborative approach lies at the heart of our philosophy, fostering a diverse and thriving ecosystem where creativity and innovation know no bounds.
TechFlow: How do you educate people coming from more established multi-chain worlds? How do you attract users?
Ash: Certainly, choosing Doge as our platform offers a compelling rationale. Its global recognition is unparalleled; everyone knows what Doge is, making it a unique choice for building a DeFi stack. At events like ETH Denver, when we mention our work on Doge, the surprise and skepticism we encounter only further spark interest and curiosity. These reactions themselves lead to thought-provoking discussions.
Compared to other blockchains, the Doge blockchain presents some interesting trade-offs—for example, its one-minute block time. These differences make certain implementations better suited for Doge, highlighting the need for specialized tools. Our goal is to create such tools, encouraging developers to naturally gravitate toward Doge due to its global recognition—a tendency further reinforced by the Doge meme. It’s not about evangelizing a new ecosystem; brand awareness does most of the work for us.
Starting to build on Doge might initially seem like a joke, but the potential for serious development and meaningful impact is real. Financial backing and user base demonstrate its legitimacy. The number of people who hold and actively use Doge is surprisingly large.
Moreover, interest in Doge from key figures and platforms in tech—such as Elon Musk’s fondness for Doge—only adds to its appeal. Doge being used as a payment channel on one of the world’s largest social networks, or whimsical ideas like packaging Doge onto rockets bound for Mars, reflect broad enthusiasm and support.
Our ambition is to develop tools that empower and inspire anyone to build on Doge, transforming the meme into a platform with genuine utility and innovation. The vision of cultivating a creative, vibrant developer ecosystem around Doge is not just exciting—it’s a game-changer.
TechFlow: You’re hosting a demo day for your project on March 15. What comes after that?
Ash:
Our goal is clear: we aim to support and empower developers, especially those working with DRC-20 tokens on Doge.
Our immediate plan involves deploying to testnet to ensure everything functions as expected. Once we confirm system stability, we intend to open-source our platform, making it widely accessible. We’ll announce this release on Twitter, sharing our repository and comprehensive documentation. This will enable developers to understand how to build on our platform—including creating their own DEX. We invite everyone to dive in and start building.
Additionally, we’re happy to provide educational support. If you’re interested in learning how to deploy applications on our platform, we’d be delighted to offer demos or even host a tutorial session.
Joining our testnet offers a unique opportunity to experiment with DRC-20 tokens on Doge and gain early access to tools that streamline development. This initiative is more than just a test—it’s a collective effort to shape the future of our platform. User feedback is extremely important to us, as our goal is to make blockchain technology more accessible to developers worldwide. At this critical stage, user insights will directly influence our improvements, ensuring our platform meets and exceeds developer needs. So let’s build something extraordinary together!
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