Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus has dismissed concerns over the network's security model, telling critics to revisit Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin white paper. The remarks came in response to a
Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus has dismissed concerns over the network's security model, telling critics to revisit Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin white paper. The remarks came in response to a debate sparked by Dogecoin Foundation developer Paulo Vidal, who questioned whether Dogecoin relies too heavily on Litecoin for its security.
Vidal's concern centres on Dogecoin's use of Auxiliary Proof of Work (AuxPoW), the mechanism that enables merged mining. Under this arrangement, miners can secure multiple blockchains simultaneously using the same computational work. In practice, a miner solving a block on the Litecoin network can submit the same solution to Dogecoin, earning rewards on both chains without spending any additional energy. Dogecoin and Litecoin implemented merged mining in August 2014, before which Dogecoin faced potential security risks due to its smaller hashrate, making it vulnerable to 51% attacks.Within one month of the switch, Dogecoin's hashrate increased by more than 1,500% as large mining pools widened their operations.
Vidal's argument is that by not having its own independent mining base, Dogecoin's security remains tied to the activity of other blockchains. Fellow developer Chromatic X pushed back on this view, clarifying that Dogecoin does not depend solely on Litecoin but rather on all merge-mined layer-one Scrypt coins.
Markus, who posts on X under the handle @shibetoshi, took a straightforward position. He argued that security follows economic incentives rather than any particular blockchain allegiance. He noted that $DOGE remains the most profitable Scrypt coin to mine, adding that AuxPoW simply allows it to be mined alongside any other Scrypt coin. Calling the idea of removing merged mining "dumb and pointless," Markus argued the current model continues to make sense.
David Schwartz, director of projects and strategic partnerships at the Litecoin Foundation, has said merged mining remains Dogecoin's best option and would still be appropriate even without benefits flowing to Litecoin. The broader community remains divided, however, with the fundamental question of whether Dogecoin should be capable of securing itself independently still unresolved.
Markus also shifted the framing of the dependency question, arguing that many Scrypt miners are attracted to Litecoin precisely because it lets them earn Dogecoin at no additional cost.From a security standpoint, AuxPoW raises the cost of an attack significantly: under the merged mining model, anyone wishing to attack Dogecoin must confront the total physical hashrate of the entire Litecoin network. Whether that arrangement is a strength or a structural vulnerability remains a live question inside the Dogecoin developer community.
Sources:Dogecoin Co-Founder Fires Back on Bitcoin Security Debate, Crypto EconomyDogecoin Dev Clarifies How DOGE Merge Mining Works, U.TodayCase Study: Merged Mining in Dogecoin and Litecoin, Binance Research
