Dogecoin (DOGE) was founded by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer in December 2013 as a joke (meme coin) parody of Bitcoin. Markus was a software engineer at IBM, while Palmer was an engineer at Adobe. Both left the project around 2014-2015. Here are key points about Dogecoin's founders: Billy Markus: Used the pseudonym Shibetoshi Nakamoto on Twitter/X and coded Dogecoin. Jackson Palmer: Had the initial idea to create a fun and relaxed cryptocurrency. Initial Goal: Created as a lighthearted cryptocurrency "parody" to poke fun at the surge in digital currencies, but eventually gained widespread popularity thanks to the community, particularly on Reddit. Current Status: Neither Markus nor Palmer are anymore involved in Dogecoin's technical development, and the coin is managed by the community (Dogecoin Core Development). Elon Musk's Role: Although not a founder, Elon Musk is a known supporter of Dogecoin, frequently influencing its price movements through his tweets on social media.