Bull doge! Dogecoin soars as Trump announces a government efficiency
group nicknamed DOGE
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 [November 14, 2024] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — Wow, much bull market.
Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency whose mascot is a super-cute dog that muses
things like “much wow,” has been racing higher in value since Donald
Trump won the presidential election last week. It got another bump after
Trump named Tesla's Elon Musk as one of the heads of a new “Department
of Government Efficiency,” which is not a government agency but does
have the acronym DOGE.
All this makes sense and is maybe humorous for anyone who’s chronically
online. For others, here's some explanation about what's going on:
What is dogecoin?
It's a cryptocurrency, whose value rises and falls against the U.S.
dollar based on however much people will pay for it.
At first, it was seen as a joke. But over time, dogecoin has amassed a
group of fans who have periodically sent its price soaring. Like other
cryptocurrencies, supporters say it could be used to buy and sell things
on the internet without having to worry about a central bank or
government affecting how many are in circulation.
How much has dogecoin climbed?
One dogecoin — which is pronounced dohj-coin — was worth less than 16
cents just before Election Day. It's since more than doubled to nearly
38 cents, as of Wednesday afternoon, according to CoinDesk. It briefly
got above 43 cents earlier Wednesday.
Why is it climbing so much?
Cryptocurrencies have generally been shooting higher since Trump's
election. Bitcoin, which is the most famous digital currency, has set an
all-time high above $93,000 after starting the year below $43,000.
Excitement is racing because Trump has embraced crypto and said he wants
the United States to be the “crypto capital of the planet” and create a
bitcoin “strategic reserve.”
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This mobile phone app screen shot shows the logo for Dogecoin, in
New York, April 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
 What does Elon Musk have to do
with any of this?
Musk has become one of Trump's close allies. He's also been one of
the most famous fans of dogecoin. In 2021, Musk played a character
on “Saturday Night Live” who went by the nickname, the “Dogefather.”
In 2022, Musk made more headlines when he suggested Twitter should
perhaps accept dogecoin as payment for subscriptions.
It all came to a head Tuesday, when Trump announced the “Department
of Government Efficiency,” which will work from outside the
government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will
partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large
scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to
Government never seen before.”
It has the acronym DOGE, which is also the ticker symbol under which
dogecoin trades. Musk will lead it, along with former GOP
presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
This all sounds weird.
Dogecoin's history is interesting.
In 2021, on April 20, dogecoin fans tried but failed to get its
value above $1 on what they were calling “Doge Day.”
April 20 has long been an unofficial holiday for marijuana devotees,
and Musk himself has referred to 420 several times in his career,
including his tweet in 2018 saying he had secured funding to take
Tesla private at a price of $420 per share.
Is the Shiba Inu whose picture is in the meme getting special
treats because of all this?
Sadly, no. The dog, whose real name was Kabosu, passed away in Japan
earlier this year at 18 years old. Much rest, may she have.
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