Dogecoin Foundation has launched a core development fund funded by 5 million DOGE, sparking speculation that it is returning the 5 million DOGE it took from the DOGE tip jar.
According to a blog post shared on Twitter today, Dogecoin has created a core development fund.
Dogecoin Foundation board members and current core developers will manage the fund, according to the blog post. Any expenditures will be disclosed in posts by the foundation.
The community can also track transactions for the address on the blockchain.
It was disclosed that the Dogecoin Foundation had invested 5 million DOGE in the multisig address. A minimum of three signatories are required to carry out transactions, and the wallet has five custodians, including core developers and members of the Dogecoin Foundation. The Dogecoin Core version will be released in the near future, and 500,000 DOGE will be distributed to contributors in the same manner as tip jars.
Mishaboar (@Mishaboar), a respected Dogecoin community influencer, implied a link between the 5 million DOGE fund and the 5 million DOGE taken from the tip jar at the end of last year to reportedly cover Dogecoin Foundation expenses in January 2022. This transaction caused a stir amongst some community members, as it was previously believed that these funds were only meant to aid core development.
Dogecoin is supported solely by advocacy and non-blockchain or core development efforts of the foundation.
Timothy Stebbing, Dogecoin Foundation Product Lead, denies claims that the fund was used for foundation expenses. Instead, Stebbing claims funds were sold to hedge against a price crash that eventually occurred.
The tip jar allocation has been the subject of intense community discussion. According to Dogecoin co-creator Billy Markus, the tip jar was never intended to fund core development activities but rather to honor individual members of the team working on the project at the time. Consequently, Markus believes that the allocation of funds is not the community’s concern but the holders’ business.