Here’s what happened in crypto today

From cointelegraph

Today in crypto, a Solana memecoin resurgence boosted revenue and fees for Solana-based apps to record levels, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis proposes the US government convert a portion of its gold holdings to Bitcoin and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has voiced support for the newly created United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Solana-based DApps rake in record fees as memecoin frenzy returns

Solana-based apps notched record fees and revenue activity in the last 24 hours amid an apparent return of memecoin mania.

According to a Nov. 18 X  post  from decentralized finance commentator Patrick Scott, who cited DefiLlama data, five out of the top ten protocols by fees in the last 24 hours were on Solana. 

Solana-based automatic market maker Raydium notched a record $11.31 million in fees on Nov. 17, while the liquid staking protocol Jito saw its third-highest day of fees at $9.87 million on the same day, per DefiLlama  data . 

  Source: Patrick Scott

Meanwhile, the memecoin launchpad pump.fun saw its seventh-highest day of earnings, netting $1.65 million in fees. 

Photon, a Telegram trading bot for Solana memecoins, came in as the seventh highest earning product, generating its fifth highest day of fees on record at $2.36 million.

The record fees for several Solana protocols come amid a frenzy of speculation on memecoins and a major price move for the native Solana token  SOL$240.66  itself, which pushed to $242 — its highest since November 2021.

Senator Lummis wants the United States Treasury to buy BTC with gold holdings

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis wants the United States Treasury to  convert a portion of its gold  holdings to Bitcoin to establish the highly-anticipated Bitcoin strategic reserve outlined in a July 2024 bill.

Lummis argued that by converting a portion of the Treasury's precious metal, the government's balance sheet would remain neutral — meaning that no change would occur to the government's total assets immediately following the conversion.

  US government assets and liabilities at the end of 2023. Source: US Treasury

Senator Lummis’  Bitcoin Strategic Reserve bill  stipulates that the US government should accumulate 1% of Bitcoin's total supply, or 1 million BTC, and hold the supply-capped digital asset for 20 years to shore up the US dollar in the face of currency devaluation.

“DOGE” could increase economic freedom in US — Coinbase CEO 

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has  voiced support for the newly created  United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal agency focused on reducing spending and cutting regulations. The department will be led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

On Aug. 20, US President-elect Donald Trump  floated the idea  of bringing Musk into his cabinet or giving the billionaire an advisory role starting in January 2025. At the time, Trump did not specify which department he planned to put the Tesla CEO in.

On Nov. 13, Trump formally announced Musk and Ramaswamy would  head the new agency , which aims to streamline federal operations by eliminating waste, slashing regulations and restructuring government agencies.

Meanwhile, Armstrong thinks the new government agency is an opportunity for the country to increase its economic freedom. 

On Nov. 17, the Coinbase executive  posted  on X calling DOGE an opportunity to “increase economic freedom” and restore efficiency in government. He also suggested constitutional amendments to limit government spending, proposing a cap of 10% of gross domestic product. Armstrong wrote:

“The founding fathers were geniuses but (with humility) may have missed the adverse incentives which grow the size of democratic government over time (winning elections by promising more free stuff).”