DOGE Core Developer Refutes Rumors About Transition of Dogecoin to POS

Dogecoin core developer Michi Lumin has taken to Twitter to dispel rumors about the possible move of Dogecoin to proof of stake. The sentiment was probably fueled by Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin’s remarks. Shortly after the Ethereum Merge was completed, Vitalik Buterin expressed hopes that other blockchains like Dogecoin and Zcash would follow suit.

…If and when a proposal exists, there will be MUCH community deliberation before next moves. Sorry for being so long winded on this but it seems I have to say it several different ways for people to understand. A sudden and forced “move” to PoS is not possible for #dogecoin…

— Michi Lumin (@michilumin) December 29, 2022

The “proof of stake” (POS) consensus mechanism relies on staking, while the “proof of work” (POW) mechanism that Dogecoin utilizes relies on mining. Dogecoin now ranks as the second largest POW chain after Bitcoin.

According to the DOGE Core developer, influencers, notwithstanding the huge following they might seem to have, may not have the inside scoop on what is going on with Dogecoin.

She adds that it might be pertinent to understand how changes work on a blockchain like Dogecoin, which is closer to older Bitcoin technology than modern ERC20 tokens.

According to Lumin, Dogecoin operates on “consensus,” so moving Dogecoin to proof of stake was not possible, nor could an individual or entity plan to do so. “A sudden and forced ‘move’ to PoS is not possible for Dogecoin,” she wrote.

The best that could be done is for the party to outline it in a proposal or even code it, with the community and validators deciding whether or not to take it up.

She refutes plans to move Dogecoin to proof of stake, saying, “No, there is not a ‘plan’ to ‘move’ Dogecoin to PoS.”

Instead, she hinted at a plan to give to the community for its review — a proposal in this regard.

Given the community’s current disposition toward this, Lumin anticipates that such a plan would be met with hostility. She noted that such a proposal might differ from traditional POS in many ways.

The Dogecoin developer concluded that such plans would only exist as a proposal until they received broad approval to move forward.