Dogecoin Jumps Toward Three-Year High After Trump Announces ...

19 hours ago

Forbes

Topline

Dogecoin rose on Wednesday across a threshold the cryptocurrency has not eclipsed since 2021, after President-elect Donald Trump tapped Elon Musk—who has touted the token in recent years—to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency.

The meme cryptocurrency eclipsed a threshold for the first time since 2021.

Getty Images Key Facts

Dogecoin increased by as much as 24.6% on Tuesday to nearly $0.44 and by about 10% on Wednesday to over $0.42 as of around 10:25 a.m. EST, surpassing the $0.40 mark for the first time since hitting a high of $0.44 on June 3, 2021.

Trump said Tuesday that Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the new department—whose acronymized name shares the name of the cryptocurrency—that Trump said would “provide advice and guidance from outside of government.”

On X, Musk responded to the announcement with an image of a “DOGE” logo and a Shiba Inu that appeared to refer to dogecoin, which features the dog’s face.

The cryptocurrency also responded to the news with an image of Musk, a Shiba Inu and a caption that reads, “We’re going in full throttle.”

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Big Number

150%. That’s how much Dogecoin has increased since Election Day on Nov. 5, when trading for the cryptocurrency ended the day at just below $0.17.

Tangent

Bitcoin crossed the $90,000 threshold for the first time on Wednesday and is now trading at more than $91,000. The digital asset has risen by more than 30% since Election Day, when the cryptocurrency traded at below $70,000.

Key Background

Dogecoin hit a market cap of about $70 billion in 2021, when the meme token peaked near $.70 before plummeting to around $0.05. The coin’s success was largely linked to Musk, who embraced dogecoin on social media. Dogecoin’s collapse appeared to follow Musk’s appearance on “Saturday Night Live” that year, during which Musk called the coin a “hustle.” The crypto market has experienced a surge since Trump’s election win last week, including bitcoin setting multiple new record highs. Trump has said he would make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet,” despite earlier criticism of the industry, and was endorsed by several crypto leaders like Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

Forbes Valuation

Musk is the wealthiest person in the world with a fortune valued at $308.1 billion, according to our latest estimates. The Tesla CEO first proposed a government efficiency agency earlier this year, and Trump later said he would create a commission run by Musk to conduct a “complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government.”