Whether DOGE can avoid becoming an air project depends mainly on its actual application and business expansion potential.

Many still consider DOGE a pure meme coin, but in reality, it has long been building a decentralized payment ecosystem. By 2026, DOGE will have completed its transformation from a meme token to a payment tool.

**Payment network is fundamental**. With deep integration on the X platform, users can directly tip, transfer, and settle transactions with DOGE, reaching tens of millions of transactions daily. Offline, it has integrated with 150 million merchants, from convenience stores to coffee shops, and even for car deposits. Scan-to-pay with instant confirmation, with fees only a few cents. Coupled with Starlink offline payments and RadioDoge technology, transfers can be completed even in remote areas without internet, truly promoting financial inclusion.

**Use cases are continuously expanding**. Online, it can be used on platforms like Newegg and Namecheap for shopping, gift card redemption, and mobile top-ups. Offline, it has become the official payment method for sports events like NBA and NASCAR. Meanwhile, it is deepening its on-chain ecosystem; the DRC-20 inscription protocol makes DOGE a low-cost NFT transaction medium, and charitable donation projects have achieved transparency.

**Technical guarantees are in place**. Using the AuxPoW merge-mining mechanism shared with Litecoin for security, with a 1-minute transaction confirmation speed far surpassing Bitcoin. An annual fixed issuance of 5 billion coins creates moderate inflation, encouraging circulation rather than hoarding. This design aligns better with the fundamental properties of a payment currency. By 2026, the inflation rate will have dropped below 3%.

Therefore, judging a coin’s value still depends on whether its business foundation is solid and whether its applications are truly implemented, rather than following trends or blindly chasing high prices.