Popular dog-themed cryptocurrency Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) rallied sharply Sunday after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) implicitly supported Elon Musk's upcoming Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

What happened: The world's largest meme coin by market capitalization leaped over 9% in the last 24 hours, surpassing gains made by blue-chip cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).

DOGE's trading volume jumped 40% to $8.93 billion, making it the fifth-most traded cryptocurrency in the last 24 hours.

See Also: Ethereum Rally Gets Overshadowed By Searing Gains In Cheaper Plays: Why Are ENS And ETC Soaring Today?

The rally came after veteran left-leaning politician Sanders shared concerns about the Pentagon's financial management with Musk.

The independent senator highlighted the Pentagon's $886 billion budget and its failure to pass audits for the seventh consecutive year, agreeing with Musk's position on wasteful government spending and his mission to fix this with the DOGE department.

The planned DOGE department, overseen by Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, seeks to cut through the complexity of federal bureaucracy and filter out "nonsensical" regulations.

Price Action: At the time of writing, DOGE was trading at $0.4568, up 9.27% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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