Recently, Dogecoin has once again become the focus. Trump announced that he would appoint Musk as the leader of the newly established "Government Efficiency Department", which has the same name as Dogecoin and has brought about the Dogecoin craze. This article will explore the origin of the department, Musk's connection with Dogecoin, and the impact of this event on the crypto market.
At 9:30 a.m. on November 13, Trump announced the appointment of Elon Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to eliminate government bureaucracy, cut excessive regulation, cut wasteful spending, and reorganize federal agencies. Musk then released the logo of the Department of Government Efficiency and said it would "make government more interesting."
Since then, a new government department named after memecoin has appeared on the American political stage. So where did the department "DOGE" come from?
The past and present of the department "DOGE"
The originator of meme coins: DOGE
DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) has the same name as the ancestor of meme coins, Dogecoin (also commonly known as Dogecoin in Chinese).
Dogecoin (DOGE), as the pioneer of meme coins, was inspired by the then-popular "Doge" emoticon package (the prototype was a Shiba Inu named Kabosu).
Dogecoin was founded in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. At the beginning, they hoped to create a lighthearted cryptocurrency to satirize the hype in the cryptocurrency market at the time. Dogecoin immediately achieved great success after its launch, and was warmly welcomed on websites such as Reddit, and was also used as a reward tip.
At the same time, Musk also has a deep relationship with Dogecoin. In April 2019, Musk tweeted that Dogecoin is his favorite cryptocurrency and thinks Dogecoin is "cool."
In a May 2021 episode of Saturday Night Live, Musk called himself "Dogefather" and called Dogecoin "the people's cryptocurrency." As time went on, Musk became more deeply connected to Dogecoin and even became the public's ambassador for Dogecoin.
To date, DOGE has gone through four bull and bear cycles, but it still sits firmly in the top ten of the cryptocurrency market capitalization.
However, the protagonist of today’s story is not DOGE, but the government department “DOGE” that has the same name as DOGE.
The origin of DOGE
The story begins on August 20 this year, when Trump announced that if he was successfully elected president, he would appoint Musk as a cabinet or government adviser.
When the outside world was discussing Musk's position, the Twitter account of Sir Doge of the Coin responded that Musk could serve as the Department of Government Efficiency, abbreviated as "DOGE". Later, this post attracted Musk's attention and retweeted it, saying "This is a perfect name."
Since then, the story of DOGE has begun to unfold with the election process. On October 26, in Pennsylvania, Musk likened the government’s opaque financial spending to a swamp and said:
“We (DOGE) will be very open and transparent and explain very clearly what we are doing with the Government Efficiency Department, what the problems are and how the expenditures are calculated.”
“We’re going to reduce our expenses. If anyone has a better way to reduce our expenses, please tell us. But if we don’t do this, we’re going to go bankrupt. So, we have to do something. And it’s going to have to be something pretty big.”
Not only did Musk himself express his views on the "Government Efficiency Department" in many speeches, but Trump also listened to Musk's advice. In a speech on September 6, Trump said that after being elected, he would set up a "Government Efficiency Department" and let Musk lead the work of the department.
With the two-way efforts of Trump and Musk, secondary creation and mass movement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as the background are in full swing.
People in the United States are beginning to realize the importance of government efficiency, and social media is full of condemnations of the waste of government resources: "The U.S. Treasury Department reported $24.5 billion in "unchecked transactions" in the past year," "Agriculture Department employees abused government-issued credit cards to spend millions of dollars on personal items such as concert tickets, tattoos, underwear and cars," and "Transgender monkey research cost $33.2 million."
Whether on X, Instagram or Tiktok, if you care about politics and the election, you can see that works related to government efficiency continue to emerge. Since then, DOGE is not just a simple name like Dogecoin, but also a powerful weapon and cultural symbol for Trump supporters to oppose the Democratic Party’s financial opacity and chaotic government spending management in the election process.
The biggest Alpha in this bull market: Musk trade
In this cycle, the "Musk trade" is particularly important. Unlike the "Trump trade" which is more inclined towards the US stock and crypto era beta, the "Musk trade" is almost the most explosive alpha after the election. All cryptocurrencies related to Musk, such as DOGE and PNUT, have led the crypto market after the election.
DOGE
As the meme coin with the largest market value, DOGE is considered by most investors to have a large market value and a lower price-performance ratio than other "small-cap" meme coins. However, in the past 14 days, DOGE has achieved a 120% increase, and a 7-day increase of 96%.
DOGE's outstanding performance is due, on the one hand, to Musk's generous support for Trump in the election. The market generally believes that Trump's victory is a huge boon to Musk's related concepts. On the other hand, it is due to the potential benefits of Musk's application of Dogecoin in the payment system. At the same time, it is worth noting that Robinhood Crypto has supported the transfer and deposit and withdrawal of DOGE tokens on November 3.
PNUT
The squirrel image of PNUT comes from the squirrel "Peanut" adopted by an engineer named Mark 7 years ago. Mark often shares interactive videos with Peanut on IG, and gradually gained hundreds of thousands of fans.
However, some nearby residents complained to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that Peanut was carrying a contagious disease. What was puzzling was that the DEC broke into Mark Longo's home and took Peanut away without a search warrant. So Mark Longo started a petition on social media, and tens of thousands of fans signed and participated.
Unfortunately, Peanut was eventually euthanized by DEC. After Peanut was euthanized, Dogecoin issued a statement condemning the Democratic Party, and Musk also posted a message to mourn Peanut and claimed that Trump's coming to power would save Peanut.
The Peanut incident gradually evolved into a campaign to denounce the Democratic Party. At the same time, a large number of Peanut secondary creations began to appear on the Internet, such as "Squirrels wearing MAGA hats to revolt."
Since then, the animal image represented by Peanut has become more than just a meme of an internet celebrity, and has begun to add a buff with the political color of "Trump". Today, Musk tweeted "America was saved by a squirrel and meme coins", causing PNUT to rise by more than 100% in a short period of time.
DOGE
DOGE is a meme coin on Ethereum with the same name as the Department of Government Efficiency where Musk works. It surged after Trump released Musk's announcement of his appointment. The highest increase was 10 times, but it has gradually fallen back.
DOGE and MAGA coins have similarities. If there is no subsequent narrative support, then in the end, they will end up like MAGA coins, with good news turning into bad news.
In the process of Crypto development, Musk and DOGE are both shining stars of Web3. Now Musk is also cleverly linked with DOGE because of DOGE, adding a mysterious and unique color to Musk's political career and the crypto world itself.
