A New Era Begins for Dogecoin: Smart Contract Network Powered by DOGE Launched!

DogeOS has launched a public testnet aimed at bringing Ethereum-compatible applications to Dogecoin. Transaction fees are planned to be paid in $DOGE.

DogeOS, aiming to expand the Dogecoin ecosystem beyond just payments and transfers, has opened its public testnet, Chikyū, to developers. The system is designed as a zero-knowledge rollup network compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine.

Decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, stablecoin applications, prediction markets, and blockchain games can be developed on DogeOS. $DOGE will be used as the network’s native transaction fee asset. Developers working with Ethereum tools will be able to connect their existing software to the DogeOS testnet and test their Solidity-based smart contracts.

The new system doesn’t directly change Dogecoin’s base network. While applications run on the DogeOS layer, the network’s state is tied to Dogecoin. Therefore, the launch of the test network doesn’t mean the Dogecoin mainchain is now natively running Ethereum smart contracts.

In the current structure, Dogecoin miners do not directly verify the zero-knowledge proofs generated by DogeOS. The network uses a permissioned sequencer, a validator group, and a trusted execution environment. For changes in the bridge state to be considered valid, correct cryptographic proof, as well as the signatures of the majority of validators and the trusted execution environment, are required.

The DogeOS team proposed a separate update in July 2025 that would add zero-knowledge proof-of-confirmation functionality to Dogecoin Core. However, this change has not yet been implemented on the Dogecoin mainnet.

The project is backed by the team that developed the MyDoge wallet. DogeOS received $6.9 million in funding in May 2025, led by Polychain Capital. The launch date for the mainnet has not been announced. Therefore, the current environment should be used more for developer testing than for transactions with real value.

*This is not investment advice.