The price of Dogecoin (DOGE) ignored the premature close of the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.), the extra-governmental agency co-founded by Elon Musk, as it surged on Monday, driven by anticipation of Grayscale’s imminent launch of a DOGE-based exchange-traded fund (ETF).
D.O.G.E. Disbands Eight Months Ahead Of Schedule
The Department of Government Efficiency has effectively ceased operating months before its charter was set to expire in mid-2026, according to a Sunday report from Reuters.
Scott Kupor, Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which manages the federal workforce and its benefits, confirmed that DOGE has been dissolved and its functions have been transferred to other traditional agencies despite having eight months left to run.
D.O.G.E. grabbed headlines just days after President Trump’s election win in November 2024, with the then president-elect stating the agency’s purpose was to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”
Notably, the Department of Government Agency attracted the crypto community’s attention because its acronym matched the DOGE meme coin that Musk is an outspoken fan of.
That overlap sparked public speculations of a connection between the two. In fact, the Dogecoin logo briefly appeared on the organization’s website soon after it launched, causing the OG memecoin to go parabolic.
Shortly afterward, the department reportedly began exploring the use of blockchain technology to enhance government transparency and efficiency.
However, Musk had a very public falling-out with Trump after the world’s richest man was disappointed with the president’s big, beautiful bill, which proposed multi-trillion-dollar tax breaks and a boost to defence spending. The SpaceX and Tesla boss ended up calling it quits in late May to run his companies again.
Grayscale’s DOGE ETF Poised For Debut Today
Meanwhile, the New York Stock Exchange has approved the listing of Grayscale’s Dogecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), GDOG, on Monday. GDOG is a conversion of the firm’s existing trust into an ETF that tracks the price of the canine-themed cryptocurrency.
Bitwise’s spot DOGE-tracking ETF is also awaiting launch under the 20-day 8(a) window.
DOGE was unfazed by D.O.G.E. going dormant amid these bullish ETF catalysts. The asset was trading at approximately $0.1449, representing a 1.2% increase over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin and most other major cryptos were slightly in negative territory.
Source: https://zycrypto.com/dogecoin-holds-steady-as-elon-musks-ambitious-d-o-g-e-project-quietly-ceases-operations/
