With discussions continuing around merge mining in the Dogecoin community, co-founder Billy Markus has shared his neutral perspective. Merge mining – also known as Auxiliary Proof of Work – lets people mine cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin at the same time using the same computing power, without needing to divide their resources.
As a researcher following the Bitcoin Cash community, I’ve noticed a debate around merge mining. Markus, known as “Shibetoshi Nakamoto” on X, has publicly stated his opinion that eliminating it wouldn’t be beneficial and isn’t a worthwhile change.
As someone without a technical background or any stake in alternative cryptocurrencies, I believe proposals should address genuine needs rather than artificial problems created for personal gain. Therefore, I find this response dishonest. Removing merge mining serves no purpose and is an unnecessary change.
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— Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) July 20, 2026
Markus offers this perspective because he’s not a developer and doesn’t benefit from alternative cryptocurrencies based on Scrypt technology. Importantly, he hasn’t contributed to Dogecoin’s technical development since 2014.
Dogecoin came to life in late 2013 thanks to Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. Palmer built the official website, and Markus initially developed the software on his own for its first four versions. By 2014, both had stepped away from actively working on Dogecoin, but a dedicated team – the Dogecoin Core Development team – took over, continuing to maintain and improve it ever since.
When the creator of Dogecoin mentioned ‘Scrypt altcoins,’ they were talking about cryptocurrencies that can be ‘merge mined’ alongside each other – like Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Namecoin. Currently, Litecoin and Dogecoin are the most popular and rewarding pair for this type of mining.
Markus famously sold all of his cryptocurrency in a single transaction, including 50 Bitcoin, 440 Litecoin, and 6 million Dogecoin, leaving him with no holdings. If this is still the case, he currently has no investments in scrypt-based altcoins like Dogecoin and Litecoin.
‘Dumb and pointless’
There’s been a lot of talk recently within the Dogecoin community about ‘merge mining,’ and generally people are positive about it. Those who like the way things are now say merge mining helps miners earn more from their efforts.
Markus previously stated on X that Dogecoin should continue to be merge-mined, arguing that removing it wouldn’t make sense and would serve no purpose.
In August 2014, Dogecoin and Litecoin began using a process called merge mining. Before that, Dogecoin’s network was less secure because it didn’t have many miners verifying transactions, which made it easier for someone to potentially take control of the system.
2026-07-21 14:06