Elon Musk has denied any plans by the U.S. government to use Dogecoin as part of its D.O.G.E. initiative. Speaking at a voter event in Green Bay, Wisconsin on March 30, Musk addressed speculation about the meme cryptocurrency being integrated into the new government efficiency program.
“As far as I know, the government isn’t planning to use Dogecoin or anything like that,” Musk said.
He clarified that the similarity between the initiative’s acronym — Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) — and the DOGE token ticker is purely coincidental.
Musk added that he originally intended to name the body the Commission for Efficiency, but switched to D.O.G.E. following pressure from online communities who favored the meme-style naming.
Where the Speculation Came From
Rumors about Dogecoin’s potential involvement didn’t appear out of nowhere. In February, the official D.O.G.E. webpage briefly featured an image of the Dogecoin mascot, the iconic Shiba Inu dog, which sparked speculation and a 10% surge in DOGE’s price. At the time, Dogecoin’s market cap climbed to $56.5 billion.
Musk has a history of influencing Dogecoin's price and has previously faced regulatory scrutiny for promoting the cryptocurrency. In 2023, he was named in a lawsuit accusing him of market manipulation related to DOGE. However, his latest comments did not trigger any regulatory reaction.
According to CoinGecko, Dogecoin fell by 3.05% in the past 24 hours, and is now trading at approximately $0.165.
