The billionaire businessman Elon Musk, known for endorsing Dogecoin (DOGE), has ended circulating rumors that the U.S. government might adopt the pioneer memecoin. The tech enthusiast cleared the speculations during a recent town hall in Green Bay, Wisconsin, saying,
“There are no plans for the government to use Dogecoin or anything, as far as I know.”
Elon Musk Clarifies Dogecoin Speculations
Musk has long supported Dogecoin, frequently tweeting about the crypto and even integrating it as a payment option for select Tesla merchandise. Recently, however, Dogecoin’s price spiked due to increased market capitalization amid hopes of an official government endorsement.
Most investors anticipated that the crypto might play a role in streamlining federal transactions or be used as a government payment option. However, Musk firmly denied such claims, clarifying that the move is not a signal for integration with Dogecoin’s technology.
He added, “I was going to call it the Government Efficiency Commission, but that’s a super boring name.”
Musk claims that the similarity between the acronym of the new government initiative (Department of Government Efficiency) and the popular crypto was entirely coincidental. He further revealed that the department’s name was chosen in response to online suggestions, and due to his support of internet culture, he obliged by adopting DOGE.
Nonetheless, while the government department’s name was a catalyst to the DOGE price, the Musk revelation was no major depressant to the memecoin’s value. Following the billionaire’s statement, Dogecoin experienced a modest dip as other crypto assets moved in a similar price action at the same time frame.
Dogecoin Jumps Hurdles
Like several other crypto assets and projects, DOGE has seen its fair share of challenges. Allegations of market manipulation surrounding DOGE have been addressed in court. Prosecutors argued that the coin’s price was artificially influenced. However, after a prolonged legal battle, the case was resolved in favor of Musk, boosting the memecoin’s credibility
In another incident, a hacker exploited a flaw in DOGE that crashed nearly 70% of the network’s nodes, severely disrupting transaction processing and undermining user confidence. The developers patched the vulnerability and bolstered the network’s security in response.
