The Dogecoin and Litecoin communities have worked hand in hand for as long as I can remember. Both communities share many of the same values—respect, freedom of choice, non-combativeness, to name a few. There are some differences, though. Litecoiners have typically been more about preserving sound money principles and debating monetary philosophies amongst one another, while Dogecoiners are usually in this more for fun. In general, Litecoiners are older, more mature investors who enjoy digging into technicalities, while Dogecoiners are more youthful and focus on preserving “good vibes.” Neither view is right or wrong—we’re just different in that sense. But a deep respect has existed between both communities for over a decade. In 2014, Dogecoin was on the brink of collapse with a rapidly declining hash rate compared to Litecoin. Litecoin miners could have likely 51% attacked Dogecoin, but instead Charlie Lee and the Litecoin community offered a helpful solution through merged mining. The Dogecoin community accepted, and as a result, Dogecoin inherited Litecoin’s security. Both have been mined together ever since. Thanks to this, Litecoin and Dogecoin are the second most robust Proof-of-Work coins in the entire space, after Bitcoin. Had this not happened, Dogecoin would likely not exist today. Now, a similar situation is unfolding—though in a different way. At present, Dogecoin’s network is not under threat. Its hashrate is at all-time highs, blocks aren’t close to full, fees are low, and capacity is high. Not to mention, Dogecoin is more popular than at any point in its history. Its network has flourished over the past five years. Still, a small group of Dogecoiners receiving funding, the Dogecoin Foundation, have been pushing hard for a change from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), aligning Dogecoin with ecosystems like Ethereum and Solana, who's principles are opposite those of coins like Doge. This is the same group attempting to trademark Dogecoin’s logo, and they happen to be funded by a major PoS spokesperson. Despite community backlash and discontent, this group continues to push the PoS narrative forward. They even tried rebranding their version of PoS to “Proof of Doge”—perhaps to make their intentions less clear and appear "friendly". They continue to march forward even as the community displays its discontent. The community will not be fooled. This is not a small change. It would fundamentally alter the protocol and split the Dogecoin community—yet the Foundation seems to be fine with this division, claiming they “want the vote.” I’ve looked through PoS-related discussions on Dogecoin Reddit and spoken with other Dogecoiners. The vast majority don’t want Dogecoin to undergo this change. The push for PoS seems to be coming almost entirely from the top down, but Dogecoin’s roots have always been in Proof-of-Work since it launched in 2013. Dogecoin has become what it is today because of how it currently functions. I’ve never spoken to a Dogecoin investor who’s here because “the Foundation is trying to move it to PoS.” Dogecoiners are here today because the money just works—it’s safe, reliable, and drama-free. Yet the Foundation claims it is acting in the best interest of the community while refusing to drop its PoS campaign. If this continues, the community will split. Back in 2014, Litecoiners intervened and helped keep Dogecoin alive. Today, Litecoiners are once again sounding the alarm, warning that moving to PoS will fracture the Dogecoin community. This group of PoS proponents are stating “Why are Litecoiners angry?”, forgetting that most Litecoiners are Dogecoiners and vice-versa. Litecoiners have been supportive of Dogecoin since 2014 and both communities are deeply intertwined. We need the Dogecoin community to speak up and stand together. Too many Dogecoiners are going about their day-to-day lives unaware that an active group is pushing for changes that strike at the core of the protocol. There’s also a newer class of Dogecoiners who may not be fully informed on the issue and could be swayed simply because something “sounds cool” (e.g., calling a major protocol change "Proof of Doge", or "Sakura"). In my view, that’s manipulative marketing. The Dogecoin Foundation has been working on this for years, and they likely aren’t stopping. The vote will happen. At this point, the best thing we can do is continue teaching new Dogecoiners why Proof-of-Work matters, and how it’s the reason Dogecoin became what it is today. Achieving success as a PoW coin is one of the hardest feats in crypto because of the infrastructure it requires. In today’s environment, it’s rarely achievable for new coins to do the same. Dogecoin and Litecoin have already built their moat through PoW. Any switch to Proof-of-Stake would strip Dogecoin of that uniqueness, reducing it to just another PoS chain in a market already oversaturated with them. Dogecoin belongs to the community—not to foundations or outside agendas. If the community doesn't protect Dogecoin’s roots, no one else will. It’s time to stand up for what’s right.