A cryptocurrency backed by Elon Musk has soared in value after he was appointed head of a newly-created US state department with the same acronym.
Donald Trump appointed the Tesla billionaire to lead the new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE) alongside former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
The appointment prompted several people on social media to question how efficient two people doing one job is.
The price of cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE) has soared on the back of Musk’s appointment to DOGE.
It increased by as much as 24.6 per cent on Tuesday to nearly $0.44 and by about 10 per cent on Wednesday to over $0.42, surpassing the $0.40 mark for the first time since hitting a high of $0.44 on June 3, 2021.
On X, Musk responded to the announcement of his appointment 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.”