The Dogecoin Foundation has issued a statement distancing itself from a new copycat project called Dogecoin 2.0 (DOGE2), firing off legal demands that the new memecoin change its name.
In a letter published Aug. 31st, the Dogecoin Foundation asserts it has engaged brand protection lawyers to contact Dogecoin 2.0’s developers in a bid to “protect the Dogecoin community from being misled and to protect the Dogecoin name from possible misuse.”
Dogecoin 2.0’s website indirectly throws shade at the original canine-themed crypto, stating:
“Dogecoin 2.0 aims to offer investors prolonged growth in utilizing a much more sustainable tokenomics structure than its somewhat inflated predecessor.”
The Foundation’s letter states that Dogecoin enthusiasts, or “Shibes,” have raised concerns about the new project. While the community has historically welcomed new crypto projects, the Foundation accuses Dogecoin 2.0 of co-opting the Dogecoin brand and reputation for advantage.
Dogecoin 2.0 was launched at the start of May on the Binance Smart Chain Network. DOGE2 is currently trading at $0.04 after gaining more than 100% in 24 hours with less than $100,000 worth of daily volume.
The public statement comes just weeks after the formal restoration of the Dogecoin Foundation after a six year hiatus. The foundation will support core developers and projects working on Dogecoin, and has attracted support from leading crypto figures including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Related: Team officially reestablishes Dogecoin Foundation after 6 years
Dogecoin has seen a huge rise in price and popularity since the start of 2021.
According to Coingecko, DOGE’s price peaked in May at an all-time high of $0.68, before shedding more than 73% of its value over the next two months to test a low of $0.18. DOGE is currently changing hands for roughly $0.30 after gaining 50% during August.
A number of other canine-themed crypto tokens have emerged to cash in on Dogecoin’s recent hype, including DogeCash, UnderDog and Doge Token.
The most successful, Shiba Inu, has amassed a market cap of $3.64 billion to rank as the 46th-largest crypto asset according to CoinGecko.