Elon Musk's DOGE: Trump's Commission and Data Access Stir Controversy

Dogecoin, the original meme coin, has had a rollercoaster ride since its inception in 2013. Created as a joke by developers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, Dogecoin was initially a low-key cryptocurrency with a small following. However, its fortunes changed dramatically with the involvement of Elon Musk, the world's richest man.

In 2018, Musk first showed interest in Dogecoin when he asked Palmer to help with a Twitter bot problem. The following year, Musk began pumping Dogecoin, tweeting that it might be his favorite cryptocurrency. This endorsement caused the asset's value to skyrocket, and Musk even briefly branded himself as Dogecoin's CEO. The coin's market cap hit $400 million, and it was listed on major exchanges like Coinbase Pro.

During the 2021 bull run, Dogecoin gained significant mainstream attention and a larger cult following. Developers secretly worked with Musk to make the coin a valid payment method and a greener, cheaper alternative to Bitcoin. Musk's "Saturday Night Live" appearance as the "Dogefather" sent the asset's price to its all-time high of about $0.73. Later that year, Musk announced that SpaceX would launch a satellite to the moon funded entirely by Dogecoin.

In 2022, Tesla started accepting Dogecoin for merchandise, and Musk's purchase of Twitter hinted at integrating the meme coin into the platform. However, Musk faced a $258 billion lawsuit alleging that he pumped Dogecoin, an asset with "no value at all." A judge later dismissed the lawsuit, calling Musk's tweets "aspirational and puffery."

Dogecoin had a relatively quiet 2023, but it soared in recent months following Musk's support of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Trump announced that Musk would lead a government efficiency commission, with the acronym matching Dogecoin's ticker. Musk later revealed that he isn't actively involved in cryptocurrencies but likes Dogecoin for its humor and memes.

With Trump back in office, Musk's DOGE has started aggressively interrogating U.S. government spending, grabbing headlines and accessing potentially sensitive citizen data. Despite its tumultuous history, Dogecoin continues to captivate the crypto world and maintain