An animated Elon Musk didn’t just confuse the world with a salute, he also baffled many by saying “we’re gonna take DOGE to Mars.”
Was he talking about the Department of Government Efficiency, the agency Trump’s given him control of? Can you even take an agency to Mars? Or was he talking about his favorite crypto, $DOGE. That’s more likely, right?
Regardless, Dogecoin, the reigning king of memecoins, spiked 14% within an hour on Tuesday, hitting nearly $0.40, according to CoinGecko.
The surge came after the agency’s website went live, boldly sporting a giant $DOGE logo –– the face of a Shiba Inu dog.
What’s behind the logo? Not much. The site also doesn’t lead anywhere — it’s just got a cryptic message: “The people voted for major reform.”
So, vibes and a mascot.
Read more: Trump and crypto: Will the rising tide lift all boats?
Dogecoin’s bounce comes after a rough weekend, when Donald and Melania Trump’s surprise memecoins drained liquidity from the market ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
Even with the latest rally, Dogecoin is down almost 50% from its peak three years ago.
But that didn’t stop traders from flooding X with the usual $DOGE memes and moonshot dreams.
The Musk effect
Crypto’s always been hype-driven, especially memes — but few things hit harder than the Musk effect.
Blockchain Research Lab even published a paper four years ago looking at how his statements impact trading activity.
In six events between 2020 and 2021 in which Musk mentioned Dogecoin and Bitcoin, crypto trading volumes spiked, the paper revealed.
And when Musk, after he acquired Twitter in 2023, changed the blue bird icon with the image of the Dogecoin mascot, the token surged by more than 30%.
And Musk’s influence is set to grow, not just on DOGE the agency, but by default, on $DOGE the coin. Musk is now reportedly the only one left in charge of DOGE after its co-lead, pro-crypto politician Vivek Ramaswamy, quit.
The DOGE faithfuls must be salivating at the prospect.
This article was updated at 7pm Dubai time.
Edited by Ankush Chibber. If you have any tips, ideas or feedback, please get in touch: talk-to-us@moniify.com
