President-elect Donald Trump has announced his intention to appoint Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, as the head of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency. The announcement has drawn significant attention, partly due to the department’s acronym, DOGE, which matches the ticker symbol for Dogecoin. Following the news, Dogecoin saw a sharp spike in value.
On Tuesday, Trump shared the news through his social media platform, Truth Social, revealing that Musk would take the lead of the Department of Government Efficiency. He wrote, “I am pleased to announce that the great Elon Musk will lead the Department of Government Efficiency alongside America’s patriot Vivek Ramaswamy. These two exceptional Americans will help dismantle government bureaucracy by eliminating excessive regulations and cutting wasteful spending.”
Ramaswamy, a conservative figure who ran against Trump in the Republican presidential primaries, withdrew from the race after the Iowa caucus in January and pledged his support to Trump. He has since become one of the president-elect’s closest allies.
Trump also emphasized the department’s DOGE acronym by writing it in all capital letters. Notably, DOGE is also the name of the cryptocurrency Musk has heavily promoted, describing it as “superior to Bitcoin.” Following Trump’s emphasis on DOGE, the price of Dogecoin surged to $0.41 before quickly retreating. As of 11 AM KST on Wednesday, Dogecoin had experienced a modest recovery, trading at $0.40.