Quick Story Short
Dogwifhat (WIF) is a Solana meme coin built around a viral photo of a Shiba Inu in a pink knit beanie. It launched in November 2023, saw rapid community growth, and later hit the spotlight with a Las Vegas Sphere crowdfund and big exchange listings.
Where the meme began (backstory)
The image behind Dogwifhat dates to 2018, when Instagram user bangdddd posted photos of their Shiba Inu Achi wearing a pink beanie. The “dog wif hat” phrasing circulated on Twitter soon after; Decrypt notes a Fortnite pro, Issa, helped popularize the profile image that inspired the coin’s name. In short: the meme long predates the token.
Launch on Solana and early growth
WIF went live in November 2023 on the Solana network and quickly gathered steam during the chain’s memecoin wave. Multiple explainers (Decrypt, Bitstamp Learn) confirm the late-2023 launch window, which became the takeoff point for community, liquidity, and price.
Supply basics: reputable trackers show ~998.8–999M WIF in total, with essentially the full amount circulating (no ongoing emissions or burns coded in). CoinMarketCap’s WIF page lists ~998.83M total/circulating supply; Bullish’s asset page likewise says there are no mechanisms like staking or burning that alter supply.
The big public moments: listings and the Vegas Sphere
- Binance listing (Mar 5, 2024): Binance announced spot pairs WIF/USDT, WIF/BTC, WIF/FDUSD, WIF/TRYand applied its “Seed Tag” risk label at launch. That single event supercharged liquidity and exposure.
- Coinbase adds WIF to its roadmap (Nov 2024): When Coinbase flagged plans to list WIF, the token rallied on the news—another legitimizing moment for a meme-led project.
- “Sphere Wif Hat” crowdfund (Mar 2024): The community raised ~$650k–$700k to put Dogwifhat on the Las Vegas Sphere, a made-for-memes marketing flex that correlated with fresh price highs at the time.
Decrypt’s history recap also records the coin later pushing toward its all-time high (around $4.8–$4.9) before enduring heavy volatility in 2025—par for the course in meme-asset cycles.
A (very) short timeline
- 2018–2019: Meme origins (Achi the Shiba; “dog wif hat” phrasing gains traction).
- Nov 2023: WIF launches on Solana.
- Mar 2024: Binance lists WIF; the Vegas Sphere crowdfund hits its target.
- Nov 2024: Coinbase adds WIF to its listing roadmap.
- Aug 2025: The original pink beanie associated with Achi is auctioned for 6.8 BTC, underscoring how the meme has taken on a life of its own.
How WIF fits into the wider meme-coin story
Dogwifhat’s arc mirrors the culture-first thesis of meme assets: they’re powered by shared jokes, symbols, and participation, and they live or die by mindshare. WIF’s marquee moments—top-tier listings, a viral Sphere campaign, and even auctioning the real hat—show how narrative events can translate into on-chain liquidity and price discovery, at least for a time. (And, yes, the reversals can be just as dramatic.)
FAQ
- Is there any “utility”?
Beyond community identity and trading liquidity, no—WIF does not promise technical utility. That’s part of the point; it’s an unapologetic meme coin. - What about token burns or staking?
There are no protocol mechanisms to change supply (no burn or staking that affects issuance), according to exchange and venue summaries. - What gave it mainstream attention?
A mix of major listings (Binance, Coinbase) and the Las Vegas Sphere fundraising stunt.
Bottom line
- Meme first (Achi with the pink hat), coin later (Nov 2023 on Solana).
- It broke out on big-name listings and an audacious Sphere campaign.
- Supply sits near ~999M WIF and is fully circulating, so there’s no hidden inflation schedule.
- Trading is widely available on Binance, Coinbase, and Solana DEXs like Orca and Jupiter—but volatility is part of the package, so size positions with care.