Dogecoin surged on Tuesday night, continuing its postelection rally following President-elect Donald Trump’s formal announcement of the Department of Government Efficiency, which he referred to as “DOGE” in his statement.
Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE
In Trump’s statement, he shared that Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate and Strive Asset Management co-founder, Vivek Ramaswamy, would lead the department. Together, they are expected to lead efforts to dismantle government bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulations, cut unnecessary spending, and restructure federal agencies.
Dogecoin was last up by nearly 20%, emerging as one of the top performers in the postelection rally with a 153% increase since election day, in contrast to bitcoin’s 30% gain in the same timeframe.
Dogecoin surpasses XRP
Dogecoin also surpassed XRP this week to become the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Memecoins are widely considered an indicator of retail interest and risk appetite within the crypto space, with increased memecoin activity often signifying active participation and speculative interest among retail investors.
Trump initially introduced the idea of an efficiency commission in September. Since then, Musk, who has previously referred to himself as the “Dogefather” and has a history of publicly supporting the memecoin, has posted on his social media platform X, referencing the commission as the “Department of Government Efficiency” or “D.O.G.E.”
Dogecoin rally
Dogecoin gained traction in 2021, largely due to Musk’s endorsement and sustained hype on social media, which acted as a major catalyst for the coin’s popularity. In May of that year, Musk’s posts contributed to Dogecoin’s rally to its peak of 67 cents, according to Coin Metrics. However, his appearance on SNL, where he described Dogecoin as “a hustle,” led to a significant price drop.
The rest of the crypto market remained relatively unchanged from its postelection rally. Bitcoin traded steadily around $87,000, briefly reaching $90,000 in late afternoon trading. Crypto stocks Coinbase and MicroStrategy saw declines of 1% and 2%, respectively, in extended trading.
