Deep 7 News

Elon Musk's Latest

Dogecoin Antics Could

Spell Trouble with

the SEC

Elon Musk is renowned for his various business ventures, including Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, and his recent foray into Twitter. Musk has a reputation for creating headlines with his outrageous antics, and on April 1, 2023, he changed Twitter’s iconic bird logo to the Dogecoin dog for approximately one week. Many people thought it was just Musk being his usual self.

However, this “prank” happened to coincide with Musk’s efforts to dismiss a Dogecoin lawsuit worth $258 billion, which may have landed him in trouble with the SEC.

Elon, known as the “Dogefather,” changed Twitter’s logo to the Dogecoin dog while attempting to get the lawsuit dismissed.

In early 2021, Musk became Dogecoin’s most prominent supporter, causing the price to skyrocket and labeling himself as the “Dogefather” in the process. In early May 2021, Doge briefly reached $.65, a 36,000% increase. However, the cryptocurrency’s journey to the moon was short-lived and plummeted to below $.06 in a matter of months.

A year later, disappointed Dogecoin investors filed the $258 billion lawsuit, alleging that Musk intentionally drove up the price. According to Reuters, Musk’s lawyers requested a New York judge to dismiss the lawsuit in early April 2023. “Tweeting words of support or funny pictures about a legitimate cryptocurrency is not illegal,” Musk’s lawyers stated. “The court should put a stop to the plaintiffs' unfounded allegations and dismiss the lawsuit.”

Musk's recent actions gave the dog-themed cryptocurrency a momentary boost.

When the Twitter CEO swapped the blue bird logo with Doge's, the cryptocurrency's value increased by 20% within a few hours. Prior to the public's awareness, Doge was hovering around $.07, but hours later, it had risen to over $.10. Now that the blue bird is back in its rightful place, Doge has dropped back down to $.08.

However, the Dogefather may have made a mistake with his latest antics. The Securities Exchange Commission, particularly Chairman Gary Gensler, believes that most cryptocurrencies are securities. According to Reuters, Musk's actions could "inform" the SEC on further regulations for the crypto industry.