Elon Musk has become so closely linked with Dogecoin (DOGE) that he decided to embed the joke into the name of his new and semi-government agency: Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.).
Although Musk was once a major bullish catalyst for the meme coin, recent Finbold research suggests he may now be having the opposite effect on the cryptocurrency’s value and sentiment.
Finbold data shows that the number of Dogecoin millionaire addresses plunged by 41.37% between January 21 and March 31, a decrease of 964 addresses in just over two months.
Over the same period, DOGE price has crashed nearly 50%, from $0.34 shortly after D.O.G.E. was officially established and President Donald Trump was inaugurated to $0.17 at the end of March.
Looking at the wealthiest Dogecoin holders, the proportional drop in the number of addresses with between $1 million and $9.99 million and those with $10 million or more has been massive.
Addresses with $1 million-$9.99 million were 40.21% fewer, from 1,930 on January 21 to 1,154 on March 31. Those holding over $10 million fell 47% from 400 to 212.
Dogecoin millionaires fall across the board
The detailed breakdown reveals that, in absolute numbers, the highest number of addresses owning between $100 and $199.99 worth of Dogecoin was lost as it fell from 1.38 million to 1.09 million for a total loss of 290,630 or 21.08%.
While as many as 238,719 addresses with between $1 and $99 of the meme coin disappeared, they recorded the lowest relative drop of only 6.78%, showcasing the persistent willingness of many traders to make small wagers on a parabolic run.
Conversely, the largest percentage collapse was recorded among those holding between $100,000 and $999,999 in DOGE at 49.5%. In total, their number dropped by 7,564 from 15,281 to 7,717.
Lastly, it is noteworthy that the number of DOGE millionaire addresses could either be greater or smaller than the number of Dogecoin millionaires, as one person can own multiple addresses, and multiple individuals can pool their resources into a single address.
Are Dogecoin and D.O.G.E. linked?
Despite Elon Musk’s involvement with politics being controversial both rhetorically and directly, the tension surrounding D.O.G.E. might not be having an oversized impact on Dogecoin. Specifically, at press time, the loss of DOGE millionaires appears more closely linked to the state of the wider cryptocurrency market and the economy.
Still, if the broader macroeconomic factors are the primary cause behind the drop, Elon Musk is unlikely to generate tailwinds for Dogecoin.
The South African-Canadian-American billionaire clarified on Sunday, March 30, that the government has no plans to use DOGE for any purpose:
“I was going to call it Government Efficiency Commission but that’s a super boring name. Then the internet said it needs to be Department of Government Efficiency. I was like, well, Internet, the Internet is right…but there are no plans for the government to use Dogecoin or anything, as far as I know.”
At the same time, he emphasized the distinction between the meme coin and the Department of Government Efficiency, stating that he replaced his original name idea – Government Efficiency Commission – for the internet-proposed D.O.G.E. simply because he found the former boring.
Featured image via Shutterstock
