The meme has transformed into the "National Development and Reform Commission" of the United States. How much potential is there for DOGE, promoted by Musk?

Author: Zen, PANews

On November 13, Beijing time, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on his "Truth Social" platform that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He compared the mission of this department to the Manhattan Project during World War II and described 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 U.S. government's annual budget of $6.5 trillion. The department is expected to operate independently but will work closely with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to guide structural reforms. In the announcement, Trump confidently stated that by July 4, 2026 (the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States), America would "become a smaller, more efficient government with less bureaucracy."

Since Trump's victory, his top supporter Musk has become the second biggest winner after Trump himself, not only seeing a significant increase in his wealth, maintaining his position as the world's richest person, but also witnessing a surge in cryptocurrencies closely related to him, such as Dogecoin (DOGE) (for clarity, all DOGE mentioned below will be referred to as "Dogecoin"), Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE, abbreviated hereafter), and the X Empire (X), which is themed around him.

According to CoinMarketCap data, as of November 14, Dogecoin has risen over 107% in the past week, reaching nearly $0.43 around 5 PM on November 12, the highest point in over three years. Additionally, Musk has recently been using his personal influence to spread the story of the euthanized internet celebrity squirrel Peanut, and with Musk commenting, "America is saved by a squirrel and meme coins," the price of Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) has skyrocketed from around $0.01 on November 7 to $2.02, with a market cap exceeding $2 billion.

However, after the announcement of the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency, despite Musk continuously posting about this "good news" on X or interacting with others, and claiming, "We finally have the power to eliminate cumbersome regulations that are detrimental to the public interest," the calls for Dogecoin to reach $1 have been numerous on X, but Dogecoin has not continued the previous high momentum, only fluctuating around $0.4. Meanwhile, the DOGE token, which was launched in August this year and has a smaller market cap, doubled in price within less than 12 hours, with a market cap exceeding $450 million.

"Carefully Planned" D.O.G.E

On August 13 of this year, Trump and Musk held a live connection on X, and the "collaboration" of these two political and business heavyweights attracted significant global attention. "I think we need a government efficiency committee to determine where it is reasonable for us to spend money. Where is it unreasonable?" Musk suggested to Trump during the connection, stating, "We need to live within our means."

A few days later, Musk posted a photo on X that appeared to be AI-generated, showing him standing at a podium labeled "Department of Government Efficiency," with the caption "I am willing to serve." This was the first formal mention of the department. The acronym for this special agency, D.O.G.E, seems to indicate his intention to link his new political role with the cryptocurrency he helped promote.

However, at this time, the cryptocurrency market was in a slump, and the question of who would take the presidency remained undecided. Therefore, Musk's "promotion" did not receive a market response, and the price of Dogecoin did not see a significant increase. Cryptocurrency KOL @IncomeSharks commented below, "Elon’s tweets about $DOGE no longer even affect the price."

In early September, Trump publicly agreed to Musk's request. In a series of new economic plans he announced, one of them was to propose the establishment of a government efficiency commission. He stated that once elected back to the White House, Musk would lead this commission, which would be responsible for conducting a comprehensive financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and proposing significant reform recommendations.

However, in Trump's recently released announcement, he actively cooperated with Musk, referring to the department as D.O.G.E. It should be noted that D.O.G.E is not an official government department; Trump stated in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy would provide "advice and guidance" to the White House from outside the government. It is still unclear how this organization will operate. It may be governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which stipulates how external groups providing advice to the government must operate and be accountable to the public.

Notably, the other leader of the department, former presidential candidate Vivek, is considered one of the biggest contributors to Trump's and the Republican Party's shift in stance on cryptocurrencies. He has been advising Trump on Bitcoin and digital assets since January of this year and has been gaining influence within the core circle. Vivek has also suggested that the dollar should be backed by a basket of commodities, and over time, Bitcoin should perhaps be included as well.

New Agency May Have Negative Impact on DOGE Token?

Given Musk's strong support for DOGE as a meme and asset, the industry generally believes that his involvement with DOGE could be a good omen for the memecoin and even the cryptocurrency industry. Recently, Musk has frequently interacted with DOGE-related tweets on X, seemingly confirming this.

However, many believe that Musk's actions 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 catastrophic impact on Dogecoin's visibility. If this government project gains brand recognition and is widely reported, it could overshadow Dogecoin's exposure.

"Musk posts countless tweets to his 204 million followers every day, sometimes about X, sometimes about SpaceX. Among them are some poor jokes or misinformation. But in recent months, there has been almost no mention of cryptocurrencies, and there will be even fewer mentions in the future," Sephton stated, adding that Musk is transitioning from someone who jokes on X to a figure who directly influences world events and affects the lives of millions of Americans. Although Musk's new role is positioned as an external government role, he is highly valued by the president, as evidenced by his conversations with Ukrainian President Zelensky alongside Trump.

Sephton further added, "If you peel back the layers of Musk, it is easy to see why he was initially so fascinated by Dogecoin: he wanted influence. He can change the market with a single sentence, and that in itself fascinates him." He believes that Musk's influence has now reached its peak, meaning he can 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 undoubtedly seek greater influence. All of this suggests that DOGE, the cryptocurrency, has become somewhat redundant for Musk, and he may set it aside to focus on the next big thing.

In addition, whether the DOGE led by Musk can play a positive role in the Trump administration has raised concerns among many. Pessimistically, if the agency ultimately becomes "notorious," Dogecoin itself may also be affected. Its appointment has already faced criticism from citizen public interest organizations, a progressive consumer rights NGO that has questioned several policies from Trump's first term. "Musk knows nothing about government efficiency and regulation, and his own companies often violate the rules he is about to crack down on," stated co-chair Lisa Gilbert in a statement.

Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of foreign exchange and commodity research at Deutsche Bank, is also pessimistic about DOGE's prospects, even suggesting that this could have catastrophic consequences for the U.S. economy: "Musk does not believe in gradual and cautious approaches. I do not believe he can take a wise step. Some may say their recommendations are just recommendations, and the president and Congress are in front of actual implementation. But if the recommendations are not going to be implemented, then why establish such an agency? The president would appear indecisive, which is exactly what Trump does not want to see."