TL;DR: With a new update or NFT collection being released almost every day, it’s clear the crypto ecosystem is constantly evolving. The Doge Pound is one of the NFT collections paving the road to the digital universe — but it’s just the beginning. Knowing what brought it here and why it was created will lead you to make better decisions when investing or simply interacting with The Doge Pound.

In this article, we’re gonna dive into the The Doge Pound lore, answer all the The Doge Pound related questions and even more. Prepare yourself for a fantasy story and a journey to the future of The Doge Pound!

What is The Doge Pound?

The Doge Pound is an NFT collection of 10,000 dogs that live on the Ethereum blockchain.

Let’s get one thing straight. These are no ordinary dogs — they are the creation of Professor Elon.

The year was 2065.

Amid the crumbling world, a man with a mind sparking like lightning took a stand against destiny. This was Professor Elon, a once-distinguished scientist who had grown disillusioned with humanity. In a radical move, he turned his focus from mankind to an unexpected ally — dogs. He envisioned them as an army of loyal companions, a species unwavering in its loyalty.

The dog breed evolved, gaining intelligence and self-awareness. Professor Elon’s passion attracted followers, forming a courageous alliance at his side. This army emerged, driven by a fiery desire for freedom, poised to conquer the globe.

The war was relentless, fierce, and unyielding. Then, five years later, it ceased.

The remnants of life had shifted to the moon, as the Earth lay in ruins. On the moon, a pack of Sheba dogs, known as the Doge Pound, established their haven.

You too can be part of the Doge Pound evolving story by owning 1/10,000 NFTs.

Owning an NFT is different than screenshotting a JPEG — just like holding an original Rembrandt is more valuable than owning a replica. As their name suggests, NFTs are non-fungible by design. This is different from digital tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Fungible assets can be exchanged for another asset of the same type, much like BTC, ETH, or even fiat. NFTs, on the other hand, are unique assets where their ownership details are documented on the blockchain, ensuring digital scarcity and unique attributes for each asset.

But how exactly is digital scarcity being enforced?

The concept of NFTs first emerged in 2012 with the creation of Colored Coins, which could be used to represent real-world assets on the blockchain. However, Colored Coins only worked in a permitted environment, making it more similar to a database than anything else.

As the crypto industry became more popular, people have continued to experiment with the idea of a digitally scarce asset. This led to the creation of ERC-721 and ERC-1155.

The ERC-721 standard is like a set of rules for making NFTs. These actions help in making special tokens with their unique information, making them different from one another.

Behind the scenes, ERC-721 smart contracts keep a list of who owns which token, making it safe to pass tokens from one person to another. The contract also keeps count of how many tokens there are altogether and how many each person has.

As previously mentioned, The Doge Pound NFTs are secured by the Ethereum blockchain. Ownership and transaction history are publicly visible on the Ethereum blockchain along with other important info such as the NFT’s metadata.

Understanding how to access an NFT’s metadata is essential for holders to grasp the specifics of what they’re buying.

Metadata usually includes visual attributes like color, type, wearables, and so on. On the blockchain, it looks something like this:

The Doge Pound have their own set of traits that make up their uniqueness. These are clothing, earring, eyes, eyewear, fur, gender, hats, and mouth.

Some traits are rarer than others, which makes a specific NFT stand out from the rest. For example, only 15 Doge Pounds with golden fur exist.

The Doge Pound NFT collection has been autogenerated. This means that out of the potential combinations, only 10,000 Doge Pound NFTs will ever exist!

In addition to the OG Doge Pounds, the team has also issued 10,000 Doge Pound Puppies.

To keep things interesting, the Doge Pound team has come up with a breeding mechanism that involves the OG Doge NFT and the Doge Puppies.

The Puppy collection introduces a new set of unique Doges offspring. Through the mating of a Stud (make) and a Dam (female), a puppy will come into existence, born to reside in any corner of the Universe the Pound dominates.

A distinct Puppy is the product of a breeding pair consisting of an OG Doge couple. This pairing results in the creation of a solitary unique puppy, just like the number of unique Dams in existence - for instance, 5000 unique Dams will generate 5000 unique puppies.

Initially minted puppies by the OG Doge holder will be numbered from 1 to 10,000, possessing Generation 1 traits. However, offspring produced through breeding will possess numbers higher than 10,000, reflecting Generation 2 traits and beyond - such as Generation 2, 3, 4, and so forth.

What is the utility of The Doge Pound?

The Doge Pound makes for an awesome avatar pic, but it’s also your ticket to the Doge Pound ecosystem.

Owning The Doge Pound NFT grants members-only benefits, including early access to new releases from our gaming studio & partners, upcoming P2E games, conferences, gaming events, and exclusive presale opportunities.

One example of a perk for the NFT holders is Diamond Paws, an NFT token rewarded to the

loyal holders of The Doge Pound NFTs. Each club member will get IRL perks and benefits as part of their membership and will continue to reap the benefits as long as they hold at least one OG Doge NFT.

As The Doge Pound brand expands, NFT holders will be able to continually earn rewards. Whether you are hodling for a season or longer, The Doge Pound ecosystem continues to explore new ways of keeping holders engaged.

The team also outlined plans for a governance token, called PND. The PND Token will serve as a weekly rewards mechanism for puppy owners engaged in a feeding game. The quality of the puppy's food will correspond to the rewards, incentivizing better care for the digital pets. To stabilize the token's value, liquidity will be augmented in the pool, and transactions between 3D Doge for OG 2D Doge and Puppy's trading fees on OpenSea will contribute to its value.

The total token supply is unlimited, with the PND Tokens being minted upon reward collection. Token burning will occur when premium food is purchased and when the puppy's name is changed. As a governance token, PND enables voting on ecosystem-influencing decisions, underscoring its role in shaping the platform's future.

Who created The Doge Pound?

The Doge Pound was created by Kyle Van Dyn Hoven in 2021. Before that, a couple of events happened. Most events are related to Kyle Van Dyn Hoven and his journey into the NFT space.

Kyle, aka John Lemon, had been running his own business since college, initially building large audiences across various social media platforms, especially focusing on Twitter. Through those experiences, John delved into influencer marketing, understanding it at a high level.

His business ventures broadened to mobile app and game development in separate offices in Pune, India, and Lahore, Pakistan, where he assembled small teams. With a particular focus on volume, they developed hundreds of mobile games and apps.

Throughout, he navigated a variety of spaces, such as affiliate marketing, working with brand deals, and engaging with social media, drawing in substantial numbers, like around 40 million on Twitter. He later came out with the name "John Lemon," derived from a 3D character for a website called DLive TV, a crypto Twitch alternative.

John Lemmon served as a streaming host and meant to function as a 3D influencer. It was initially conceptualized to feature a talking lemon, literally named John Lemon, a wordplay tribute to John Lennon. This venture marked Kyle’s introduction to NFTs as they explored DLive TV, where Ethereum collections such as CryptoKitties were prevalent in 2018. NBA Top Shot was a significant entry point into the NFT space due to Kyle’s involvement and investment in the platform, driving them to explore further opportunities in the NFT realm.

Their interest grew with projects like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, NBA Top Shot, and the potential for art and community building in the NFT space. Witnessing the rise of these communities and understanding their expertise in art and community development, they saw the launch of Doge Pound as an opportune moment to delve into the NFT space. Doge Pound's inception was more an alignment of opportunity, blending their background skills with the growing NFT market.

After three months of groundwork, the team laid out the NFT collection and its plan for the mint.

Not particularly proficient in technicalities, John aligned with a co-founder skilled in smart contract deployment, someone he had connected with through the space. This partnership invoked a sense of unease, considering potential scenarios if the project raised substantial funds. Yet, it led to a fruitful association. While some creative team members were already working for John, those engaged in blockchain and technical aspects were new to the project.

The Dogepound NFT concept did not involve any groundbreaking genesis. The team initially crafted the artwork and decided upon the project's launch, only to encounter the sudden emergence of projects like the Bored Ape Yacht Club and similar dog-themed NFTs. Fearing they wouldn't be the first significant dog project, they pivoted to embrace the Shiba Inu dog meme, known for its association with Dogecoin's culture, representing a mix of relatability, community ethos, and underdog-like resilience, fitting Dogepound's values.

The Doge Pound's path entailed entering a space that had initially seemed sparsely populated but quickly became highly competitive and frenzied, reflecting the dynamic nature of the NFT market.

The official mint date for Doge Pound NFTs was July 12, 2021. The initial mint price was 0.069 ETH, capped at 30 maximum mints per person.

Amidst the excitement of the doge reveal, there was a delay. The website initially set the reveal for July 20th, but the team aimed to unveil the doges earlier.

To spark early interest, they arranged an airdrop for the first adopters. The team worked intensely to organize images and details for the reveal, but OpenSea issues pushed the timeline. A glitch displayed a doge at a significantly lower price than its actual value, resulting in confusion and potential losses for sellers.

Despite the Doge's actual floor price hovering around 0.3 ETH, the floor price was displayed at 0.13 ETH on OpenSea. This discrepancy led to concerns as sellers might inadvertently list their doge at an unjustifiably reduced price, resulting in significant financial losses, roughly between 50% to 60%.

The team made efforts to rectify the issue, with communication established with OpenSea to swiftly address the glitch. Technical users were provided with instructions for minting the NFTs directly via Etherscan.

As part of the hype plan, crypto influencers were scheduled to publicize the reveal on Twitter. They encouraged the community to spread the word, building up the anticipation for the big moment.

In an effort to boost visibility, the community had a plan to actively engage high-profile figures like Elon Musk and Billy, the creator of Dogecoin, through constant tweets showcasing their doges. It was believed that a consistent effort would catch their attention. Another entertaining suggestion was to change profile pictures on Twitter to the doge and share quirky intros about each person's furry character. This move aimed to make a splash over the next couple of days.

At the 5-day mark post-mint, the project had reached a significant milestone, with 37.5% of the doges minted and a slow but consistent upward trend observed daily. Anticipating this rising demand, the team planned a series of promos for the weekend to further escalate the project's momentum.

The surge in interest and demand was so intense that there were expectations of a complete sell-out even before they could manage to fix the website, an exciting, albeit slightly chaotic, situation.

Who is developing The Doge Pound now?

The Doge Pound is being developed by Doge Pound Studios, a gaming studio that also created Deez NFT. Leveraging a robust history of creating mobile games with a staggering 300 million game downloads, the studio centers its efforts on crafting Play-to-Earn (P2E) games and ventures within the Metaverse.

Among their actively developed projects are titles like Manic Games, The Feeding Game, and an expansive open-world Metaverse. Additionally, the studio engages in collaborations with renowned game developers like My Pet Hooligan, Evaverse, and several others, enriching The Doge Pound NFTs with added functionalities and experiences.

Besides the development of Doge Pound experiences, Doge Pound Studios is tasked with making partnerships that offer value to the NFT holders.

The team started out with a PFP NFT launchpad. By becoming a hub for NFTs, Doge Pound Studios hopes they could deliver consistent perks to the community. One such instance was the minting of Journey Club NFTs, where Doge Pound holders had been whitelisted.

Moving forward, Doge Pound Studios is looking for presale access opportunities for the community.

Investors are also an important component of every NFT ecosystem. Although they don’t get involved directly in the governance of the project, they do exert an influence over the brand’s expansion into the mainstream. As of 2023, Doge Pound Studios hasn’t raised any strategic funding.

According to John Lemon, the initial concept focused on creating hyper-casual-style games, intending to build a token around the gaming aspect. Despite their background and enthusiasm for the project, the resource allocation and costs were substantial, deterring them from pursuing this gaming direction. Consequently, they redirected their focus back to the core brand of the Doge Pound, intending to consolidate their identity around dogs and inclusivity within the dog niche.

How does The Doge Pound make money?

Now, let’s get to the juicy part – how does The Doge Pound make money?💰 (No, flipping and rug pulling are not the correct answers)

The answer to this question is strongly related to intellectual property.

Think of popular trademarks such as Mickey Mouse, Spider-Man, or Coca-Cola. Every time you see movies, books merch, or posters with them, know that the owners of the IP get a share of the profits. The same thing goes with the NFT holders, in theory.

When it comes to NFTs, it’s quite challenging to fit them into the traditional framework of copyright law. To give more context, owning an NFT doesn’t mean holders have automatic control over the creative work. This creative control needs to be granted by the creator.

As such, NFT holders should pay attention to what IP rights, if any, come with owning the NFT.

The Doge Pound team hasn’t made it clear whether NFT holders can profit from derivatives of the art in their possession. Their terms & conditions do, however, mention the art can be displayed under their conditions.

At Dogepound, the focus is on evolving their IP to transform it into a multi-dimensional asset within the metaverse. They aim to go beyond a static 2D image, envisioning the digital character as a dynamic and interactive entity. For instance, they aspire to enable users to create content, communicate, or even bring their Doge character into various digital environments such as gaming, FaceTime calls, or even augmented reality experiences in their real surroundings, like seeing the Doge walking on their kitchen counter. This innovation in the realm of IP and collectibles might not be the primary focus for all brands, but for those heavily invested in their intellectual property, it becomes a crucial aspect, turning the collectible or artwork into a functional and interactive extension of the owner's identity in the metaverse.

Technologically, this advancement requires constant development and enhancement, and being part of this movement requires funding.

Another way of generating revenue is via royalties. As of 2023, Doge Pound Studios earns 6% of all secondary sales. This source of revenue helps finance initiatives for boosting the mainstream appearance of Doge Pound NFTs.

The mission of The Doge Pound is to build new experiences that leverage the Doge Pound intellectual property. In achieving their goal, Doge Pound Studios has delivered both digital and IRL experiences. Here’s a short list of them:

By far the most impactful initiative was the Doge Pound shelter. The initiative stemmed from a connection within the community, leading to a lucky introduction to someone operating a dog shelter in Tanzania. Engaging in fruitful discussions with the individual, the team pondered a more interactive and engaging approach than simply contributing money to a shelter.

Driven by this vision, they started building a dog shelter from the ground up in Tanzania. This endeavor involved developing the land, constructing buildings, assembling staff, and actively rescuing dogs.

The shelter became a vital and beloved component of the Doge Pound community, indicating it as one of the prime reasons behind the collection's success. Thanks to Doge Pound, hundreds of dogs were saved.

The shelter's future goals involve expanding its capacity and improving its ability to aid homeless dogs.

Presently, the NFT project donates 0.5% of all royalties to the shelter every two to three months as a lump sum. However, the team aims to enhance transparency for holders by adding a donation tracker on the website. Additionally, they're developing a live dog camera feed showcasing the shelter, providing contributors with more visibility into their donations.

Moreover, in the pipeline, holders will be given the chance to name dogs at the shelter.

Another source of revenue is the Doge Pound merch shop, where NFT holders can own Doge merch

Doge Pound Studios is collaborating with its vendors to extend its brand's reach in retail stores. Following a review of the initial edition of plushies, they concluded that further iterations were necessary to ensure the product aligned seamlessly with their brand's identity.

Their plushies are set to feature their mascot, the doge, while other toys will showcase both the mascot and a puppy. The first line of products scheduled for completion and introduction into retail outlets will be the plushies, followed by the vinyl toys.

Moreover, they are exploring the potential integration of NFC chips, aiming to find creative and engaging ways to incorporate this technology into their toy designs.

The Doge Pound recently announced its new partnership with Habit Nest, a distinguished web2 habit-building product.

In a Discord message, Griff, a Doge Pound representative, highlighted the significance of this collaboration amid the current market conditions, emphasizing the value that partnerships with innovative startups bring to the web3 landscape. The partnership introduces The Phoenixes by Habit Nest, an upcoming NFT project which launched in August 2022. This private project's Discord is accessible to The Doge Pound NFT holders.

The collaboration between The Phoenixes and The Doge Pound plans to introduce a health and wellness program for the community. With regular challenges designed to improve community wellness, The Phoenixes will be leading initiatives alongside World of Women, another partner of Habit Nest. These activities will allow participants to earn rewards by engaging in wellness events on Discord and through Habit Nest's mobile app, which is compatible with Web3.

In the short to medium term, Doge Pound Studios plans to focus on 3D Doges, more IRL events and building the gaming aspect of the collection.

Where can I buy The Doge Pound?

You can buy The Doge Pound on OpenSea.