The price of dogecoin experienced a significant increase on Wednesday following the appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy by President-elect Donald Trump to the newly formed "Department of Government Efficiency," also known as DOGE. On Wednesday afternoon, a single dogecoin was valued around 40 cents, a leap from 36 cents overnight and about 17 cents prior to the presidential elections last Tuesday. The spike in dogecoin's value boosted its market cap to approximately $60 billion, surpassing the value of recognized brands such as Ford, Delta Air Lines, and General Mills.
Not just dogecoin, but other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and stocks of crypto firms like Coinbase saw a surge in the last week. Industry leaders have applauded Trump's win, with many expressing optimism that a Trump administration would favor the crypto industry.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and other companies, has been a longtime proponent of dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that emerged from a Shiba Inu internet meme from the 2010s. Despite facing a now-dismissed lawsuit alleging that he inflated the value of the coin for personal profit, Musk continues to promote dogecoin on social media.
Musk threw his support behind Trump's candidacy this year, with his political action committee (PAC) spending at least $200 million to back the Trump campaign. Moreover, he expressed interest in aiding Trump to reduce $2 trillion in government expenditure in the upcoming years.
Trump revealed on Tuesday that Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will jointly lead the "Department of Government Efficiency," likely indicating an affiliation to dogecoin. In his statement, Trump envisioned that this department would contribute to dismantling unnecessary government bureaucracy, minimize wasteful expenditures, and revamp Federal Agencies. However, the specifics of how the department will be funded or its size remain undisclosed.