Last week, the community behind the silly/hilarious/very real cryptocurrency Dogecoin noticed that NASCAR racer Josh Wise was without a sponsor.They needed to raise $55,000 in dogecoins, and Josh would have a ticket to ride.In less than a week, they've done it.You're about to see a Doge race around 'Dega.Josh's no.98 Ford (unfortunately, not a Doge Dodge) will hit the track in its brand-spanking new Very NASCAR livery on May 4th at the Aaron's 499 at the Talladega Superspeedway, according to SBNation.And it doesn't get that much bigger than Talladega, as it's the longest track in all of NASCAR.We don't know what the official sponsor wrap will look like, but a design competition is underway on the official dogecoin subreddit.In true Doge fashion, the effort to raise money was always 100% totally professional.And by "100% truly professional," I mean that one guy accidentally donated 20,000,000 dogecoins by accident, instead of only 2,000,000.Seriously, dude had a case of fat fingers, leading him to donate just over $15,000 instead of $1500.

He seems to be taking it all in stride though, especially considering how his company operates a Dogecoin exchange.It's not like this is all the case of a mistaken donation, either.There were over 1,200 separate donations averaging out at $41 each, according to Ben Doernberg, one of the subreddit's moderators and a Dogecoin Foundation member.Josh Wise himself looks pretty pumped on Twitter, and to reward the community he's doing an AMA on reddit tomorrow at 9 PM eastern.First dogecoin funds the Jamaican bobsled team, and now their very own NASCAR racer.We may just be dealing with the next big thing in sports sponsorship, just as it's growing up.If you didn't already think the Internet was truly weird, and totally amazing, the marriage of dogecoin and NASCAR will convince you.Just over a week ago, Reddit user /u/Reddit_Racing noticed that up-and-coming NASCAR driver Josh Wise was still without a sponsor, and proposed a crowdfunding effort to have dogecoin sponsor Josh's car.See also: Dogecoin Is One Step Closer to Being Real Money Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that functions similarly to bitcoin, but it is based on the popular "Doge" Internet meme.

For those unfamiliar with the popular dog, this Tweet exemplifies the typical language that has been associated with the wide-eyed pooch.Wow Much Wednes Very day So midweek Where is weekend?— Doge (@DogeTheDog) March 26, 2014 So, what on Earth does this have to do with sponsoring a NASCAR driver?The dogecoin community has demonstrated previous fundraising success with efforts that have built clean water wells in Kenya and, more recently, sent the Jamaican Bobsled team to the Sochi Olympics.Once the entire dogecoin community got involved, it was clear this crazy idea could become reality.As Kevin Dusenberry, organizer of the dogecoin community, said, "Josh is an underdog in the NASCAR world.Dogecoin is an underdog in the crypto world.It was a match made in heaven."Dusenberry's instincts proved to be correct, as the community reached its $55,000 (or 67 million dogecoin) fundraising goal, officially making dogecoin the sponsor of Wise's No.Wise expressed his enthusiasm and gratitude, saying "I can't thank the dogecoin and Reddit community enough for the support.

Wise's dogemobile will debut at the Aarons 499 Sprint Series Cup race on May 4.A potential design for the dogecoin-sponsored car is pictured above, but there's a still a contest open for those who wish to submit their wow-filled designs.bitcoin load and verifyIf all of this sounds a bit crazy to you, Dusenberry won't argue your point.bitcoin xeon processor"I feel like this fundraiser brought dogecoin back to its roots," said Dusenberry.cex bitcoin fee"We had an idea that was just crazy enough to work."litecoin mining hash rate calculatorThe opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R.bitcoin vs inr graph

Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks.Stop those funeral dirges for Bitcoin.The virtual currency is not dead.dogecoin carIn fact, the price of Bitcoin on Bitstamp, one of the leading Bitcoin exchanges, is up more than 30% in the last two weeks!And it has shot up about 55% since hitting its lowest point of the year in mid-April.(One of the most underrated 70s sticoms by the way.And check out that awesome theme song!)Simply put, Bitcoin prices probably fell too far earlier this year due to fears about the currency's future following the bankruptcy of the once mighty Mt.Gox exchange as well as concerns regarding China and Russia cracking down on Bitcoin adoption.Related: Here's why Bitcoin matters All those bad headlines about bitcoins being used on illegal marketplaces like Silk Road for buying drugs and assassins for hire didn't help either.

Nor did the media circus that was the O.J.Simpson-esque chase of the "is he or isn't he the creator of Bitcoin?"Ashraf Laidi, chief global strategist and currency expert with City Index Ltd in London, said there definitely was a "panic" in the Bitcoin market this spring.He thinks that there are several good reasons to explain the rebound.For one, Bitcoin and other virtual currencies like Dogecoin (which even sponsored a NASCAR driver this year thanks in part to donations from Reddit users) are still gaining in popularity.Influential tech analyst/venture capitalist Mary Meeker, who became a Wall Street rock star at Morgan Stanley and now works for Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, devoted a slide to the explosion in the number of Bitcoin wallets in her latest Internet Trends report.(Meeker unveiled the report Wednesday at the Re/code CodeCon conference.)The allure of anonymity that Bitcoin offers gets a lot of attention in the press.And it feeds the notion that Bitcoin is just for those with unsavory and/or illegal tastes.

But let's be honest, relatively low transaction fees are a big draw too.Saving money may be the bigger reason why more consumers are creating Bitcoin wallets, not some desire to have their financial history hidden from the proverbial "Man" or "Big Brother."Related: Now you can use Bitcoin to buy a smart rifle Major businesses are starting to notice that too.Satellite TV company DISH Network (DISH) announced Thursday that it would begin accepting bitcoins for bill payments in the third quarter.DISH joins a growing list of companies that have started to embrace Bitcoin, including online retailer Overstock.com (OSTK), FarmVille owner Zynga (ZNGA) and Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism firm.Still, it's important to remember that Bitcoin is in its infant (maybe toddler if you want to be charitable) stages.There will be more growing pains for the currency and more big moves up and down in price.Leigh Drogen, CEO of Estimize, a site that crowdsources earnings and sales forecasts from a wide group of investors, remains a fan of Bitcoin.

I spoke with him back in October about the currency.At the time, he owned one Bitcoin.He still owns it and he said that the best thing for investors who believe in the long-term potential for virtual currencies to do is ignore the daily volatility."The price is not the most important thing when it comes to Bitcoin.It's how often it is being exchanged and how much is being purchased," Drogen said."There are times when the price will get out of whack because there is a finite amount of bitcoins out there."Related: Bitcoin OK for politics ... but with $100 limit That's a great point that bears repeating.Governments don't print bitcoins.The currency is "mined" via complex mathematical transactions, and there is an algorithm in place that controls the amount of bitcoins on the market.And that number is finite.There will never be more than 21 million bitcoins available.There are currently 12.8 million in circulation, according to Bitcoin wallet and data site Blockchain.So in that respect, bitcoins are more like stocks than currencies.

Because central banks can always issue more paper money, the value of dollars, euro, yen, etc., remain relatively stable over time.But with Bitcoin, there will often be times when demand vastly outstrips supply.Laidi adds that for a certain element of investors who had been flocking to gold as a safe haven hedge against inflation, Bitcoin is now more attractive.Related: Where is Bitcoin legal?Gold, like Bitcoin, has tended to perform well during times when investors fear that central banks may be devaluing their currencies with easy monetary policies.See "Reserve, Federal" or "Japan, Bank of" for recent examples.There's also the fact that the venture capital world is taking Bitcoin very seriously.Sure, the VC community doesn't have a perfect track record.But in addition to Meeker's endorsement, heavy hitters like Fred Wilson's Union Square and Andreessen Horowitz both back Bitcoin wallet Coinbase.So is Bitcoin dead?Does that mean that Bitcoin should be worth a lot more than its current price?