Energy: The Physics-Based Currency

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sat down with Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath for an interview that aired Sunday, and he had some thoughts about what makes a currency "fundamental." Spoiler: it's all about energy.

"Energy is the true currency. This is why I said Bitcoin is based on energy," Musk explained during their conversation. He's making the case that unlike government-issued fiat currencies, energy exists in the physical world and can't simply be conjured up by legislative fiat.

"You can't just pass a law and suddenly have a lot of energy. It's very difficult to generate energy, or especially to harness energy in a useful way to do useful work," the tech mogul argued.

This isn't a new talking point for Musk. Back in October, he made similar arguments about how Bitcoin (BTC) derives its value from energy consumption, positioning it as something governments can't "fake" or arbitrarily create more of—unlike traditional currencies where central banks can fire up the printing presses.

The logic tracks, at least partially. Bitcoin mining does require massive amounts of electricity to power the computers that solve complex mathematical puzzles. That energy-intensive process is how the network stays secure and how new BTC enters circulation. Whether that makes Bitcoin "physics-based" in any meaningful economic sense is debatable, but Musk clearly finds the framework compelling.

The DOGE Side Quest Continues

Musk also spent time talking about his Department of Government Efficiency—conveniently abbreviated as DOGE—which he characterized as an "interesting side quest" that gave him a peek behind the curtain at the "inner workings" of government.

"So a bunch of things that DOGE did were just very common sense, things that would be normal for any organisation that cared about financial responsibility," he said.

And for those wondering if the initiative has quietly faded away: apparently not. "It's still going on, by the way. DOGE is still happening," Musk confirmed.

Last week, the DOGE department pushed back against reports of its disbandment, calling them "fake" and promising "regularly scheduled" updates would return soon. The department's website currently claims about $214 billion in savings, with the last update posted on October 4.

But those numbers have drawn scrutiny. Reports have suggested the savings figures are inflated, calculated by counting maximum possible contract values rather than actual spending reductions that have been implemented. That's a pretty significant difference—it's like claiming you saved $100,000 by not buying a Ferrari you were never going to purchase anyway.

The DOGE acronym is, of course, synonymous with meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE). The coin caught fire after President Donald Trump's election victory and the subsequent announcement of Musk's DOGE initiative, riding a wave of enthusiasm that connected the government project to the long-running joke currency Musk has championed for years.

Market Movement

As for the actual cryptocurrencies bearing these names and associations, they're having a rough day. Bitcoin was trading at $86,563.48, down 4.75% over the previous 24 hours. Dogecoin fared even worse, dropping 6.88% to $0.1381.

Whether Musk's philosophical musings about energy-based currencies will provide any support remains to be seen. But at least we know the DOGE side quest is still active.