Dogecoin (DOGE) and parody DOGE tokens showed mixed moves alongside broader market declines even as Donald Trump officially unveiled a Department of Government Efficiency at his inauguration on Monday — facing a historical tendency of tokens to move higher on such mentions.
“To restore efficiency and effectiveness to our federal government, my administration will establish a new Department of Government Efficiency,” Trump declared in his post-swearing-in speech.
An executive order of the establishment of the department was issued shortly thereafter.
The department has no official authority to implement its recommendations and is headed by technologist Elon Musk. The website began displaying the dogecoin token logo on Tuesday, despite having no direct connection to the world’s largest memecoin.
DOGE fell as much as 5% in the past 24 hours, before paring back losses, tracking a nearly 5% decline on a broad basis. CoinDesk 20 (CD20) and a 3% slide in bitcoin (BTC). A parody token, meanwhile, is up 6% with most of that morning’s gains in Europe.
Musk first raised the idea of DOGE in October as a non-governmental agency to make government spending more efficient. That has fueled hopes among traders that there could be more chatter of “DOGE” in mainstream media and retail trading circles, fueling attention and interest in dogecoin, as a CoinDesk analysis mentioned in mid-October.
The DOGE was not appreciated in government quarters and facing charges. The National Security Counselors, a legal advocacy group, says the committee violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, which requires advisory groups to act transparently.
It says the department has an unclear legal structure. Public Citizen, another watchdog, is demanding more details about how the group will work.
