A 294-day political Meme coin experiment: from a high-profile get on board to a quiet conclusion.

A government department named after the DOGE code made its debut with the entrepreneur's chainsaw and a promise of reform, only to quietly disappear with 8 months left in its term. This sounds like the life cycle of a certain encryption project, but it happened in Washington, USA.

The Birth of Memification

On January 1, 2025, on his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency, whose English abbreviation happens to be DOGE—the code for DOGE. This choice is no coincidence. As a long-time supporter of DOGE, the key figure cleverly implanted encryption culture into the political realm.

The official website design directly copied the aesthetics of Meme coins: Shiba Inu patterns, playful color schemes, and unconventional typography. This completely deconstructs the seriousness of government agencies. It is worth noting that traditional federal department websites are usually in shades of blue with eagle shield emblems.

The promotion on platform X further reinforces this Meme quality - a photo of someone holding a chainsaw with the caption “the chainsaw prepared for bureaucracy”. This set of slogans and communication logic is similar to the radical promotion in the encryption circle. A new form of political communication has emerged: borrowing internet memes, subverting the traditional with a sense of mockery, and attempting to win the recognition of young netizens.

Silicon Valley Style Operations

The internal workings of DOGE are nothing like a government agency, but rather resemble a radical startup. It hired about 50 young people in their twenties, dressed in hoodies and jeans, relying on Red Bull for energy, and within three weeks had placed personnel in major federal agencies.

AI tools have become a core weapon. From contract funding to employee travel reimbursements, all data is processed digitally. The system quickly identifies points of resource waste—such as immediately returning leased government office buildings that are idle, which saved $150 million.

This “rapid iteration and rule-breaking” Silicon Valley spirit has sparked huge conflicts in Washington. DOGE requires federal employees to submit weekly reports, and those who do not will be treated as resigning; employees not on duty are forced into administrative leave. This radical management style has caused unprecedented upheaval in the traditional bureaucratic system.

The Collision of Narrative and Reality

Grand goal statements once flooded the scene: cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget and optimizing 70% of government employees. These figures, like the exaggerated promotions common in the encryption field, aim to create buzz and garner attention.

But reality quickly taught a lesson. The actual reduction achieved was only 160 billion dollars - not even one-fifth of the target. This is not just a matter of execution.

The report released by the U.S. Senate investigation team is even more heartbreaking: DOGE “wasted” over $21 billion in 6 months. The freeze on the Department of Energy loan program resulted in a loss of $263 million in interest income; the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development caused $110 million worth of food and medicine to rot in warehouses.

Legal lawsuits are coming one after another. Democratic attorneys general from 14 states have filed lawsuits, alleging that the distribution of power violates the Constitution. Nearly 20 lawsuits include violations of privacy laws, unauthorized access to sensitive data, and more. The once-shining reform experiment is beginning to show cracks.

Quiet Ending

From a high-profile debut to a silent disappearance, the timeline is very clear. In May, the key figure announced their resignation and publicly broke with the leader over a certain bill. In the summer, DOGE personnel gradually left the headquarters, and the guards and authorized identification disappeared.

This month, the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management publicly confirmed for the first time: DOGE no longer exists. Its functions have been taken over by the Office of Personnel Management, marking the end of the iconic government-wide hiring freeze.

The personnel of DOGE have not lost their jobs; they have obtained new positions within the government—one co-founder of a shared accommodation platform is in charge of the national design studio; another has become the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Health and Human Services. The experimental attempts have ended, but some ideas have been incorporated into the traditional framework.

A certain state's governor commented on X bluntly: “DOGE fought against the swamp, but the swamp won.” The traditional political structure ultimately overwhelmed this political Meme coin experiment.

Reflection: The Limits of Symbols

The political sphere is being infiltrated by the symbol economy, which is itself a new phenomenon. Although DOGE has come to an early end, it signifies the irreversible integration of politics and encryption culture. In the future, we may see more governance models with “encryption-native” characteristics.

The key question is: how to balance the spirit of encryption innovation with the stability of traditional governance? Meme symbols attract attention, but without technical implementation and value creation, they are ultimately just illusions. When the hype fades, what truly remains are the technologies and projects that solve real problems. This is true in the world of encryption, as well as in political reform.