Meme crypto Dogecoin’s value soars 800% after Trump names Elon Musk ‘DOGE’ efficiency chief…while Bitcoin’s rise goes on
THE meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin's value has soared by a whopping 800 per cent after Trump names Elon Musk as "secretary of cost-cutting".
Dogecoin - championed by the Tesla Tycoon - has even outpaced Bitcoin to rise from $0.15 to $0.42 within a matter of days as Trump soaks up his election glory.
The surge came after Trump named Musk as the new head of agency, called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE for short.
The office was named after the popular Doge meme - the famous Japanese dog Kabosu behind the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
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Elon is known to be a fan of the meme, once changing X (formerly Twitter) logo to the face of Doge.
By the end of November 12, there were 667,410 searches already for Dogecoin via Google.
Four weeks prior, these searches averaged a mere 76,141 per day - meaning interest in Dogecoin shot up by 776.55 per cent after Musk shared Trump’s statement about him heading the DOGE department.
Trump said in a statement on Tuesday that he will "pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies".
Meanwhile Bitcoin continues to swell as Donald Trump's crushing election win caused a price surge.
Bitcoin reached an all time high on Tuesday of $90,000 after the president-elect pledged to make America "the crypto capital of the planet" during his campaign.
In September, Bitcoin was priced between $59,000 and $65,000 with the mega-investor's fortune sitting around $17b.
But since Trump's decisive victory on November 5, Bitcoin has spiked - now reaching its highest amount ever, $90,000.
The crypto is surging alongside Musk's Tesla, which is up nearly an eye-watering 40 per cent since voting results begun coming in.
During his successful campaign, Trump courted the crypto industry and spoke at a Bitcoin conference in July.
The president-elect has also pledged to create a "strategic reserve" of bitcoin while his campaign accepted donations in cryptocurrency.
The dangers of crypto
Despite the recent price rise, there are dangers to buying crypto currencies.
- Consumer protection: Some investments advertising high returns based on cryptoassets may not be subject to regulation beyond anti-money laundering requirements.
- Price volatility: Significant price volatility in cryptoassets, combined with the inherent difficulties of valuing cryptoassets reliably, places consumers at a high risk of losses.
- Product complexity: The complexity of some products and services relating to cryptoassets can make it hard for consumers to understand the risks. There is no guarantee that cryptoassets can be converted back into cash. Converting a cryptoasset back to cash depends on demand and supply existing in the market.
- Charges and fees: Consumers should consider the impact of fees and charges on their investment which may be more than those for regulated investment products.
- Marketing materials: Firms may overstate the returns of products or understate the risks involved.
Musk - the world's richest man - will work as co-chair of the new team alongside prominent Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
In response, the X CEO said: "This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!"
The President-elect's incredible win has led to increased interest in digital assets like Dogecoin as investors expect a regulatory environment that's more crypto-friendly.
With the Bitcoin price surge, a mystery mega-investor saw their fortune swell to $21 billion on Monday.
The mega-investor is anonymous and only identified with an address name of almost random numbers and letters.
Musk's proximity to Trump is set to make him one of the most powerful people on the plant.
He has reportedly spent "nearly every day" at Mar-a-Lago since Trump's crushing election victory last week.
Kai, Trump's 17-year-old granddaughter, also shared a snap with Musk and his child X on a golf course this weekend saying "Elon achieving uncle status."
Musk helped fund the Republican's election victory through his pro-Trump political action committee America PAC.
He was a regular fixture towards the end of Trump's campaign trail and even gave out huge cash prizes to voters who signed petitions relating to Republican causes.
Trump has previously said Musk would be given a role as "secretary of cost cutting", heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The role means he could have wide-reaching powers to trim the US federal bureaucracy that he and Trump have claimed is holding America back.
The Space X founder has been a key fixture of Trump's campaign and was pictured with his four-year-old son at the Mar-a-Lago election party.
Trump even called him in to join a family photo taken at the Palm Beach mansion.
During his victory speech he gave Musk a special thanks - telling crowds "We have a new star - a star is born, Elon [Musk]!"
He said: "He is an amazing guy, we were sitting together tonight.
"He spent two weeks in Philadelphia and different parts of Pennsylvania campaigning."
The 78-year-old went on to praise Musk for his "super-genius" and described how he was in awe watching his Space X rocket return to Earth without a hitch.
"He sent the rocket up two weeks ago and I saw that rocket, I saw it coming down it was beautiful," Trump said.
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"Only Elon can do this."
Ramaswamy wrote on X on Tuesday: "We will not go gently, @elonmusk" next to an American flag emoji.