Elon Musk, the founding father of SpaceX, Tesla, and likewise a key determine behind President Donald Trump’s administration, is reportedly partaking in discussions concerning the potential implementation of blockchain expertise inside the newly established Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE).
This initiative, a part of Trump’s broader effort to boost the digital asset trade, goals to leverage some great benefits of blockchain for enhancing authorities operations.
Elon Musk Eyes Blockchain Options
Sources conversant in the talks, who requested anonymity because of the confidential nature of the discussions, indicated to information retailers equivalent to Fortune, that Musk has expressed curiosity in using a digital ledger to streamline authorities prices.
The proposed functions of blockchain expertise embrace monitoring federal spending, securing delicate knowledge, processing funds, and even managing federal infrastructure.
The DOGE initiative, created by an govt order signed by President Donald Trump, is tasked with modernizing federal expertise and software program to maximise effectivity and productiveness.
The division’s identify cleverly references the favored memecoin Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that operates by itself blockchain and has garnered important consideration in recent times.
President Trump has actively promoted cryptocurrency-friendly insurance policies throughout his presidential campaing and first week in workplace, together with the institution of a working group on digital belongings that entails key administration officers.
Musk’s engagement with the blockchain group will not be new. People related to the DOGE initiative have met with representatives from numerous public blockchains to evaluate their technological capabilities.
Considerations Below DOGE Initiative
The discussions spotlight a crucial facet of Trump’s 2024 marketing campaign, specializing in lowering wasteful spending and addressing the rising nationwide deficit, which has been attributed to earlier administration insurance policies.
One among Musk’s allies not too long ago pitched a number of blockchain functions to Trump transition officers, emphasizing the expertise’s potential to boost knowledge safety and monetary transparency.
Whereas the idea of using blockchain for presidency features is intriguing, it poses important challenges. Public blockchains, like these used for Bitcoin and Solana, function on decentralized networks, elevating issues about management over knowledge entries.
Campbell Harvey, a finance professor at Duke College, identified {that a} authorities utilizing a public blockchain may face points associated to oversight, as it could relinquish some management over its knowledge.
Traditionally, many massive enterprises, together with Walmart, have explored blockchain expertise, primarily by personal ledgers. These initiatives usually struggled with governance and effectivity, main specialists to query whether or not blockchains really provide benefits over typical database methods.
Sam Hammond, chief economist on the Basis for American Innovation, famous that whereas a blockchain may present safe and clear monitoring of authorities spending and contracts, conventional databases would possibly obtain comparable outcomes with fewer problems.
The DOGE initiative may signify one of many largest functions of blockchain expertise tried by any authorities. Nevertheless, the particular blockchain expertise Musk’s crew would possibly undertake stays unsure, and there are issues about whether or not these discussions will result in actionable tasks.
On the time of writing, DOGE is buying and selling at $0.33, which is a 6% retracement on the weekly time-frame.
Featured picture from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
