Elon Musk wants to create a mega API just for IRS data
Elon Musk wants to monitor IRS data by creating a mega API, according to a report by Wired. To create the API, the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE will organize a hackathon in Washington, DC, by next week.
DOGE will work along with IRS leaders to organize a hackathon, and engineers will have two main tasks: dismantle the current IRS systems and build a new mega API that will control and oversee the IRS data. This means every taxpayer’s name, social security number, tax return, and other sensitive data will be accessed and manipulated by this mega API.
The DOGE hackathon will be organized by Sam Corcos and Gavin Kliger, two of the IRS’ most skilled DOGE operatives.
Corcos is a tech entrepreneur and CEO of Levels, a healthcare and tech company. He is also an adviser to Scott Bessent and “has been embedded at the Treasury Department,” according to a career federal employee. The Rolling Stone reported that Corcos has multiple ties to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
Kliger doesn’t have any experience working for the government. Before he started working at DOGE, he attended UC Berkeley until 2022. Then, he worked at the AI company Databricks. According to the New York Times, Kliger confronted security officials from USAID, accessed sensitive Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data, and joined in taking down parts of the CFPB website.
Corcos talked about DOGE’s plans to have “one new API to rule them all.” This API will make it easy to access IRS data for cloud platforms. Application programming interfaces (APIs) let applications talk to each other and exchange data. In this case, an API will help in moving the IRS data to the cloud and this cloud platform will be a central point for reading all IRS systems. This means that anyone with access has the ability to view and use IRS data.
According to an IRS engineering source, DOGE and IRS leaders will organize the hackathon, and engineers will start dismantling the old IRS systems and create a new API within the next 30 days. Once the new API is ready, Crocos said they will deploy it to the IRS’s mainframes and then apply it to every other internal system. Such a system will have access to all IRS data, including names, social security numbers, tax returns, and even employment data.
Some sources told Wired that DOGE representatives spoke about the software company Palantir many times, making it a potential partner that will assist in handling the IRS data. Palantir was founded by Peter Thiel, a billionaire and one of Musk’s associates.
At the moment, the IRS operates various systems hosted in on-site data centers and on the cloud, and these systems are separate and designed to function independently. Such systems has permission-based access and workers will only see data essential to their role.
In a recent FOX News interview, Corcos said that, “The IRS has some pretty legacy infrastructure. It’s actually very similar to what banks have been using. It’s old mainframes running COBOL and Assembly and the challenge has been, how do we migrate that to a modern system?”
Crocos stated that he was brought in to oversee the IRS’s modernization program, which is 30 years behind schedule and over budget by $15 billion. He is expected to continue his role at the IRS for six months.
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Bitwise Unveils ETFs Focused on COIN, MSTR, and MARA
Bitwise Asset Management has launched three active options strategy ETFs tracking crypto stocks: MicroStrategy (MSTR), Coinbase (COIN), and Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA). The ETFs are called IMST, ICOI, and IMRA, respectively.
What’s interesting is that they all rely on a “covered call” strategy, a way to make money from stock volatility without having to constantly buy and sell like a day trader.
More specifically, this strategy involves selling out-of-the-money call options while still holding the underlying stock. This strategy is to generate regular income while still being able to enjoy the upside of the stock, albeit not to its full potential.
“Crypto is well known historically both for its performance and its high volatility,” said Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley. He added:
“That volatility presents a unique opportunity to generate income. We’re thrilled to expand the Bitwise suite with IMST, ICOI, and IMRA to enable investors to capitalize on that volatility.”
In other words, if people are usually afraid of the ups and downs of crypto asset prices, Bitwise actually sees it as a potential source of income. They don’t try to avoid it, but instead develop a strategy to ‘ride the wave.’
These new ETFs are managed by Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategy at Bitwise, and his team. They don’t just sit back. This portfolio is actively monitored, including by paying attention to market news, option prices, sentiment, and capital inflows.
They adjust their strategy every time so that investors can still enjoy income while still being involved in the movement of crypto-related stocks.
However, it is important to note that this ETF does not give you direct ownership of MSTR, COIN, or MARA shares. So, don’t expect to get dividends from these companies. And like any other strategy, “covered calls” also have risks. If the stock price falls too far, the income from the options may not be enough to cover the losses.
On the other hand, CNF previously reported that Bitwise also recently launched the Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF. The ETF is designed to track the performance of public companies that hold at least 1,000 BTC on their balance sheets.
Every quarter, the weighting allocation of companies in the ETF is adjusted to remain diversified, with a maximum limit of 20% per entity. So, no single company dominates.
Furthermore, Bitwise showed its ambition by completing a $70 million fundraise on February 25, 2025. This funding was led by Electric Capital and followed by other big names such as MassMutual, Highland Capital, MIT Investment Management Company, and Haun Ventures.
And as if that wasn’t enough, on March 6, 2025, Bitwise also made a breakthrough by entering the world of DeFi through a collaboration with Maple Finance , known as an on-chain credit specialist. Through this partnership, Bitwise began allocating funds to Bitcoin-based lending products.