Author: Zen, PANews
Beijing time on November 13, US President-elect Trump announced on his "Truth Social" platform that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and he compared the mission of this department to the Manhattan Project during World War II, describing it as a core part of the "Save America" movement.
The main goal of DOGE is to significantly reduce the "waste and fraud" in the US government's $6.5 trillion annual budget. The department is expected to operate independently, but it will work closely with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to guide structural reforms. In the announcement, Trump expressed confidence that by July 4, 2026 (the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States), the US will become "a smaller, more efficient, and less bureaucratic government".
Since Trump's election victory, his top supporter Musk has become the second biggest winner after Trump himself, not only has his assets increased significantly and firmly occupies the position of the world's richest person, but also the Dogecoin (DOGE), Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE, abbreviated as DOGE in the following text), and X Empire (X) based on his own theme have all taken off.
According to CoinMarketCap data, as of November 14, Dogecoin has risen by more than 107% in the past week, reaching a high of around $0.43 in the afternoon of November 12, the highest level in more than 3 years. In addition, Musk has been constantly using his personal influence to spread the story of the euthanized internet celebrity squirrel Peanut, and with Musk's comment: "America is saved by a squirrel and a meme coin", Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) has also skyrocketed, with its price soaring from around $0.01 on November 7 to $2.02, with a market value exceeding $2 billion.
However, after the news of the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency was released, although Musk continued to post messages or interact with people around this "good news" on X, and even claimed: "We finally have the power to delete those cumbersome regulations that are not in the public interest", the calls for Dogecoin to reach $1 soon on X were numerous, but Dogecoin did not continue the previous high-pitched upward trend, only fluctuating around $0.4. Meanwhile, the DOGE token launched in August this year, with a relatively small market value, has more than doubled in price in less than 12 hours, with a market value already exceeding $450 million.
"Carefully Planned" D.O.G.E
On August 13 this year, Trump and Musk had a live video call on the X platform, and the two top figures in politics and business attracted global attention. "I think we need a government efficiency commission to determine where we are spending money reasonably and where we are spending money unreasonably," Musk suggested to Trump during the call, saying "We need to live within our means."
A few days later, Musk posted a photo on the X platform that looked like it was generated by artificial intelligence, showing him standing at a podium labeled "Department of Government Efficiency", with the caption "I'm willing to serve". This was the first time the department was officially proposed. Musk's choice of the acronym D.O.G.E for the special agency seems to indicate that he intends to link his new role in politics to the cryptocurrency he helped popularize.
However, as the crypto market was in a downturn at the time and it was still unclear who would become the next president, Musk's "promotion" did not get a market response, and the Dogecoin price did not see a significant increase. Crypto KOL @IncomeSharks even commented below, "Elon's tweets about $DOGE don't even affect the price anymore."
In early September, Trump publicly agreed to Musk's request. In his series of new economic plans, one item was to establish a government efficiency commission. He said that once re-elected and back in the White House, Musk would lead the commission, which would be responsible for a comprehensive financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and propose major reform recommendations.
However, in Trump's just-released announcement, he still actively accommodated Musk by renaming the department as D.O.G.E. It should be noted that D.O.G.E is not an official government department, and Trump stated in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will provide "advice and guidance" to the White House from outside the government. It is currently unclear how the organization will operate. It may be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which stipulates how external bodies providing advice to the government must operate and be accountable to the public.
It is worth mentioning that the other leader of the department, former presidential candidate Vivek, is considered one of the biggest contributors to Trump and the Republican Party's shift in their stance on cryptocurrencies. He has been advising Trump on Bitcoin and digital assets since January this year, and his influence in the inner circle is growing. Vivek has also proposed that the US dollar should be backed by a basket of commodities, and over time, Bitcoin may also be included.
Will the New Agency Have a Negative Impact on DOGE Tokens?
Given Musk's strong support for DOGE, the meme and asset, the industry generally believes that his involvement in DOGE could be a good omen for the meme coin and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. Musk's frequent interactions with DOGE-related tweets on X in recent days also seem to be confirming this.
However, many also believe that Musk's move may have a negative impact on Dogecoin. Freelance journalist Connor Sephton stated in an article that after reading the endless reports about the DOGE department, he believes this could ultimately have a disastrous impact on the visibility of Dogecoin. Because if the government project gains brand recognition and widespread media coverage, it may overshadow the exposure of Dogecoin.
"Musk posts countless posts to his 204 million followers, sometimes about X, sometimes about SpaceX. Some of them are poor jokes or misinformation. But in recent months, he has hardly mentioned cryptocurrencies, and he will mention them even less in the future," Sephton said, noting that Musk is transitioning from a person who jokes on X to a figure who directly influences world events and affects the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans. Although Musk's new role is positioned as an external role to the government, his extreme importance to the president is evidenced by his joint call with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
Sephton further added, "If you peel back the layers of Musk, it's easy to see why he was so fascinated with Dogecoin in the first place: he wants influence. He can change the market with a single word, and that alone captivates him." He believes that Musk's influence has now reached its peak, meaning he can now focus on bigger goals: power. The Department of Government Efficiency marks the beginning of his political ambitions, and in the coming months and years, he will inevitably seek greater influence. And all of this means that DOGE and cryptocurrencies are now quite redundant to Musk, and he will cast them aside to focus on the next big thing.
In addition, many are also concerned about whether the Doge led by Musk can play a positive role in the Trump administration. Pessimistically, if the agency is ultimately "infamous", Dogecoin itself may also be affected. Its appointment was criticized by a public interest organization, which is a progressive consumer rights non-governmental organization that has questioned several policies of Trump's first term. "Musk not only knows nothing about government efficiency and regulation, but his own companies also often violate the rules he is about to crack down on," said co-chair Lisa Gilbert in a statement.
Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of foreign exchange and commodities research at Deutsche Bank, is also not optimistic about the prospects of Doge, and even believes that this will have disastrous consequences for the US economy: "Musk does not believe in a gradual and cautious approach. I don't believe he can take a wise step. Some would say their advice will only be advice, and the president and Congress will be in front when it comes to actual implementation. But if the advice is not implemented, why set up such an agency? The president will appear irresolute, which is exactly what Trump does not want to see."
