Musk is looking at blockchain tech for Trump's new DOGE initiative, but is it feasible?

Elon Musk is exploring the use of blockchain technology to modernise the federal government’s operations, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

The effort comes as part of Musk’s role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new initiative established by the Trump administration to streamline government functions.

Musk has floated the idea of deploying blockchain— a decentralised digital ledger—among close allies as a tool to cut costs and improve efficiency, Fortune reported citing a source.

Potential applications include tracking federal spending, securing sensitive data, processing payments, and managing government-owned properties, the sources said.

Representatives of DOGE have reportedly met with various public blockchain developers to evaluate the technology’s feasibility.

Blockchain in focus

The department’s name, a nod to the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, highlights the administration’s growing interest in digital assets. President Donald Trump has embraced pro-cryptocurrency policies, recently signing an executive order to establish a working group on digital assets. The executive order, issued January 20, officially created DOGE to overhaul federal technology systems. The group, tasked with identifying cost-saving measures, aims to submit its recommendations by July 4, 2026.

Musk has already recruited a team of approximately 100 volunteers to assist in coding and project development, according to a source familiar with the initiative.

Challenges and skepticism

Some experts question whether blockchain is the most practical tool for government use. “An internal government blockchain could be used to track spending, documents and contracts in a way that’s fully secure and transparent,” Fortune cited Sam Hammond, chief economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, as saying. “The question is whether you really need a blockchain to do that, since conventional databases can be used in a similar way and with fewer downsides.”

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Public blockchains, such as those used by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Solana, also pose governance challenges. Campbell Harvey, a finance professor at Duke University, warned that governments could lose control over entries on public ledgers, which could complicate efforts to manage sensitive data.

Still, examples of blockchain applications in the public and private sectors are growing. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles has digitized car titles using the Avalanche blockchain, and investment giant BlackRock has launched a money-market fund on cryptocurrency networks.

Road ahead for DOGE

The Trump administration’s support for blockchain technology aligns with its broader push for innovation. The government has already explored issuing tokens using the Solana blockchain for the Trump and Melania memecoins, though it remains unclear which blockchain DOGE might adopt.

Musk’s blockchain initiative, if pursued, would mark the most ambitious government blockchain project in the U.S. to date. However, experts caution that blockchain’s efficiency and cost-effectiveness remain unproven in large-scale applications. Gartner, a research firm, previously noted that most enterprise blockchain projects faced governance and scalability issues.