Elon Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, soared as much as 20% on Wednesday after the Tesla mogul was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The meme coin, which features an image of a Shiba Inu and was created as a joke to poke fun at other cryptocurrencies, has more than doubled in value since Election Day and was trading at 42 cents as of 10:30 a.m. ET. Since the beginning of the year, Dogecoin has soared 353%.
The rally has pushed Dogecoin past XRP to become the sixth-largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of about $60 billion as of Wednesday. According to CoinMarketCap.
Since President Trump crushed Vice President Kamala Harris last week, Dogecoin is up 106%, well ahead of Bitcoin's 30% rise over the same period.
Nevertheless, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $91,584 on Wednesday.
Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States “the crypto asset of the planet” and amassing a national stockpile of Bitcoin.
On Tuesday, he appointed Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to head DOGE, which functions as an outside government advisory board.
President Trump said the two men “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, cut excessive regulation, eliminate wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies.”
Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work with the Office of Management and Budget to “advance major structural reforms and create an unprecedented entrepreneurial approach to government” and that the White House will He said he would provide “advice and guidance.”
Musk posted on X: “Ministry of Government Efficiency. Goods will be (fire emoji).” He then added: “A threat to democracy? No, a threat to bureaucracy!!!”
Musk, the richest person in the world by net worth Rating by Bloomberg Billionaires Index It was $319 billion as of Tuesday and was an ardent supporter of Trump during the campaign.
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who was reported to be worth $1 billion last year, endorsed Trump after withdrawing from the presidential race.
After becoming co-representative of DOGE, Ramaswamy announced on Tuesday. He said he plans to withdraw from consideration for the soon-to-be-opened U.S. Senate seat from Ohio, which will be vacated by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
The president-elect has often said he would give Musk a formal role overseeing groups like the Blue Ribbon Commission, which recommends ways to cut spending and make the federal government more efficient.
At one point, Mr. Musk suggested that more than $2 trillion could be saved, nearly a third of total annual government spending.
President Trump has made it clear that Musk likely won't serve in a full-time role given his other commitments.
“I don't think we can hire him full time, because he's a little busy with rocket launches and other activities,” President Trump said at a rally in Michigan in September.
“He said the waste in this country is insane, and he's going to get Elon Musk to be a cost cutter.”
with post wire
