What in the world is going on with DOGE?
The Musk led Department of Government Efficiency is slashing funding, canceling contracts and letting 19-year-old hackers access sensitive financial data.
We’ve never seen anything like this in the U.S. before, and it can be disconcerting.
But I believe there’s a method to this madness.
Elon Musk has made a career out of disrupting industries — payment systems, electric cars, space travel, social media…
And now he has his sights set on something much bigger…
The way the U.S. government operates.
I believe that after Musk finishes his slash-and-burn campaign to identify wasteful government spending, his next move could be to start putting government services on the blockchain.
And that could end up being a great thing for the country.
Why Blockchain?
The U.S. government isn’t exactly known for being cutting-edge when it comes to technology.
Bureaucratic red tape, outdated systems and inefficient spending have plagued federal operations for decades.
That’s where the blockchain comes in.
A blockchain-based system could track federal spending in real-time, reducing waste and making government finances more transparent.
It could also improve cybersecurity, making sensitive data harder to tamper with.
And with smart contracts — self-executing agreements written in code — processes like grant management and procurement could become more efficient, cutting down on paperwork and human error.
One company being considered for this transformation is Movement Blockchain.
Musk’s team is evaluating Movement alongside other public blockchains to see which would work best for government needs.
Movement is a Layer 2 solution on Ethereum, meaning it is built on top of Ethereum’s main blockchain to handle transactions more efficiently.
It uses zero-knowledge rollups, a technology that bundles multiple transactions together and processes them off-chain before verifying them on the main Ethereum blockchain.
This enhances security while significantly increasing the number of transactions the network can handle.
And Musk isn’t the sole voice advocating for blockchain in government.
President Trump has been very vocal in his second term about supporting crypto-friendly policies.
As I predicted, he already signed an executive order rolling back Biden’s harsher crypto policies and establishing a working group dedicated to digital assets and blockchain applications.
But when it comes to Trump’s motivations, all you really need to do is follow the money.
Recently, Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) acquired Movement Blockchain’s token, MOVE, for its decentralized finance project.
That move sent the token’s value up by 15%.
And it tells me that there’s real momentum behind the idea of putting government services on the blockchain.
But is blockchain really the solution to government inefficiency, or is it just another tech buzzword getting swept up in political ambitions?
The Benefits of a Blockchain Government
There’s a lot to like about the idea of using blockchain for public services.
One major advantage is transparency and accountability.
Every transaction on a blockchain is recorded permanently, making it harder for funds to disappear due to mismanagement or fraud.
Efficiency also improves with blockchain because automated smart contracts can eliminate unnecessary steps in government processes. This has the additional benefit of reducing costs and speeding up operations.
Then there’s the benefit of increased security. Traditional databases are vulnerable to cyberattacks, but blockchain’s decentralized nature makes it significantly more difficult for hackers to alter data.
But what would government services on the blockchain actually look like for you?
A blockchain system could allow different government agencies to seamlessly exchange data, reducing redundancy and miscommunication.
And if you’ve ever had an issue with your social security check or your driver’s license, then you know how much improvement is needed in those areas.
In a perfect world, a blockchain-based identity system would allow citizens to securely manage their digital identities, making everything from tax filing to social services access more efficient.
Of course, no technology is perfect, and there are significant hurdles to making blockchain work for the public sector.
Scalability is a major issue. As more users join a blockchain network, transaction times can slow down.
If you’ve ever tried to trade bitcoin during times of high demand, you’ve likely seen how network congestion intensifies and confirmation times take longer.
And the massive amounts of data the federal government handles could put a real strain on current blockchain systems.
Regulatory uncertainty is another challenge because implementing blockchain would require policy changes, legal frameworks and compliance measures that just don’t yet exist.
But I believe that’s part of why Trump issued his executive order creating a team that can cut through this red tape faster than we usually see happening in the federal government.
Of course, there’s still the issue of integrating blockchain with existing government systems.
That’s bound to be complex and time-consuming since the federal government isn’t exactly known for quick tech adoption.
But with enough manpower behind an initiative like this anything is possible.
When it comes down to it, the biggest issue the Trump administration faces might be convincing the public that this is the right step forward.
Here’s My Take
Trump has tasked Musk and DOGE to radically alter the way our government operates.
In many ways, this initiative could backfire terribly.
In other ways — especially if this administration can establish a leaner, more efficient approach to government — it could be fantastic.
There’s even talk of returning some of the spending cuts identified by DOGE directly back to the public.
Putting government services on the blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the way government functions.
Trump’s push for crypto-friendly policies and the growing momentum in this space suggest that we may be at the beginning of a major shift.
But for now, the idea of a blockchain-powered government is still in its early stages.
I believe that change is inevitable.
The big question is: Do we have the will to make the bold leap necessary for these changes to happen?
Regards,
Ian King
Chief Strategist, Banyan Hill Publishing
