Billy Markus called removing Dogecoin’s merge-mining model "dumb and pointless" as the network’s reliance on shared Scrypt mining with Litecoin remains under debate and DOGE shows tentative signs of a short-term recovery.
A renewed debate over Dogecoin’s security model has widened after Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus said removing the network’s merge-mining structure would be "dumb and pointless," pushing back on calls for DOGE to move away from the system it has used since 2014. Markus, posting as "Shibetoshi Nakamoto," said he was speaking as a non-developer with no investment in Scrypt-based altcoins and argued that proposals should address real problems rather than manufactured ones. The dispute follows earlier criticism from Dogecoin Foundation developer Paulo Vidal, who questioned whether Dogecoin should continue relying on merge mining instead of securing itself independently. Others in the discussion, including a Dogecoin developer known as "junior developer" with the X handle "Chromatic X," have argued Dogecoin depends on a broader set of merge-mined layer-1 Scrypt coins rather than Litecoin alone. Dogecoin’s documentation says merge mining lets Litecoin and other Scrypt miners secure Dogecoin while earning rewards across compatible chains without splitting computing power. The network issue remains unresolved, and no formal Dogecoin governance decision or confirmed proposal to remove merge mining has been announced. At the same time, DOGE has posted a modest rebound. The token traded near $0.0734 on July 21, up about 2.14% over 24 hours and 1.86% over seven days, though still down more than 11% over the prior month. Short-term market sentiment has improved as crypto analyst Ali Martinez said Dogecoin’s weekly TD Sequential flashed multiple consecutive buy signals, a rare setup that he said could precede a larger recovery. Whale accumulation has also added support, with large holders recently buying about 200 million DOGE worth roughly $14 million, while futures open interest rose 3.74% to about $1.08 billion. Even so, resistance near $0.0754 and $0.0797 remains in focus, institutional demand has stayed softer, and U.S. Dogecoin ETFs had gone one month without new inflows as of July 17.