Trump taps Musk and Ramaswamy to lead ‘DOGE’ department as Dogecoin soars 136% in a week

President-elect Donald Trump has announced that Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Strive Enterprises co-founder Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to streamline federal operations.

Musk, a prominent Trump supporter who contributed over $100 million to a pro-Trump super PAC, previously proposed the department, apparently naming it after the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

This is the latest in a series of nominations made in the days following Trump’s election victory, with some of his staunchest supporters and loyalists being named to positions in his cabinet.

In his announcement, Trump wrote: 

Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.

– Donald Trump

Musk and Ramaswamy will drive government reforms with a new DOGE department

According to Trump, the new department will spearhead large-scale structural reforms, adopting an “entrepreneurial approach” in collaboration with the White House and Office of Management and Budget to bring innovation outside the government.

Musk has long advocated for an entity like “DOGE” and invested significant time and resources in Trump’s recent campaign, appearing at rallies and offering strategic advice on staffing for the upcoming administration. As a noted supporter of the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin, Musk has leaned into the shared acronym with humor.

Ramaswamy, who previously competed against Trump in the Republican primaries before endorsing him, posted, “We will not go gently” on X. Musk was quick to echo this sentiment, remarking that their efforts pose no threat to democracy but rather to government bureaucracy.

Bitcoin and Dogecoin rally as Trump’s win fuels hopes for a crypto-friendly future

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, surged more than 25% to new all-time highs this week as a result of Trump’s victory, briefly surpassing $89,000.

The increases indicate that investors are expecting significant changes in the sector, which underwent a crackdown under the Biden administration after regulators warned it was replete with hucksters and scammers.

Trump previously termed cryptocurrency a hoax but changed his tune on the campaign trail this year, promising to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet”.

Meanwhile, Dogecoin’s price surged 12.2% in the last 24 hours, climbing to $0.406 and posting a 136% gain over the week amidst a broader crypto rally. The dog-themed meme coin’s rise had led its market capitalization to reach $63.5 billion, but it has since dropped to $56.19 billion.

Last month, DOGE saw its “largest spike in active addresses in the past six months,” as the number of addresses active on its blockchain recently surged past 84,000.