Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO, praised the progress made by Musk’s DOGE agency

by Ridhwan Rosli February 9, 2025

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has reportedly saved US taxpayers $36.7 b i l l i o n, s p a r k i n g c a l l s f r o m c r y p t o c u r r e n c y l e a d e r s f o r g r e a t e r g o v e r n m e n t s p e n d i n g t r a n s p a r e n c y t h r o u g h b l o c k c h a i n t e c h n o l o g y . A c c o r d i n g t o d a t a f r o m D o g e - t r a c k e r, t h e s e s a v i n g s r e p r e s e n t j u s t 1.8$ 2 trillion, a vision he detailed in a January 9 interview with political strategist Mark Penn.

Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO, praised the progress made by Musk’s DOGE agency and took to social media to advocate for more transparent government spending. In a February 9 post on X, Armstrong wrote, “Great progress DOGE. Imagine if every government expenditure was done transparently on-chain. It would make auditing much easier.” Blockchain technology, with its decentralized and publicly verifiable ledger system, could provide a more transparent foundation for financial operations, enabling real-time tracking of transactions by anyone with internet access.

A blockchain-based treasury system could also introduce mandatory spending proposals, where transactions would only proceed if approved by a majority vote, further enhancing accountability and reducing inefficiencies.

In a significant development, Musk’s DOGE agency and the US Treasury reached a joint agreement after uncovering a $100 b i l l i o n a n n u a l l o o p h o l e i n g o v e r n m e n t s p e n d i n g . T h i s l o o p h o l e i n v o l v e d e n t i t l e m e n t p a y m e n t s t o i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h o u t a S o c i a l S e c u r i t y n u m b e r o r t e m p o r a r y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n, w h i c h M u s k d e s c r i b e d a s “ e x t r e m e l y s u s p i c i o u s . ” I n a F e b r u a r y 8 X p o s t, M u s k e s t i m a t e d t h a t a b o u t h a l f o f t h e s e p a y m e n t s —$ 50 billion annually—could be fraudulent, calling the situation “utterly insane” and demanding immediate action.

As part of the agreement, new criteria will require all government payments to include a categorization code and a rationale, both of which were often left blank in the past, making audits nearly impossible. Additionally, Musk pushed for the “DO-NOT-PAY” list of entities to be updated weekly or daily, rather than annually.

Jean Rausis, co-founder of decentralized finance platform Smardex, suggested that Musk’s proposal to transition the US Treasury to blockchain could position the US as a global leader in blockchain innovation. Rausis emphasized the importance of using a permissionless blockchain to ensure true transparency, stating that such a move could catalyze the merging of web2 and web3 technologies.

Since its official launch on January 21, Musk’s DOGE agency has saved taxpayers $36 billion in less than three weeks. The agency’s work is scheduled to conclude on July 4, 2026, with the goal of creating a smaller, more efficient government with reduced bureaucracy. A new plan is expected to be unveiled on the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.