Elon Musk is known for many things. He is the Tesla CEO, SpaceX, The Boring Company, and now, infamously, Twitter. He is also known for his wild antics that make headlines. And on April 1, 2023, Musk swapped Twitter’s iconic bird logo with the Dogecoin dog for about a week. Many assumed it was Musk down to his usual antics.
However, the “stuffing” turned out to coincide with Musk offers to dismiss $258 billion Dogecoin lawsuit. And he could have ended up in hot water with the SEC in the process.
Elon “Dogefather” Musk replaced the Twitter logo with the Dogecoin dog while trying to get a quarter-trillion-dollar lawsuit thrown out.
In early 2021, Musk became Dogecoin’s most outstanding defender, raising the price and proclaiming himself the “Dogefather” in the process. And in early May 2021, Doge briefly hit $0.65, an increase of 36,000%. However, the crypto’s trip to the moon was short-lived and dropped to below $0.06 within months.
A year later, disgruntled Doge investors filed a $258 billion lawsuit claiming Musk intentionally drove up the price. And Reuters reports in early April 2023, Musk’s lawyers asked a New York judge to dismiss the lawsuit. “There is nothing illegal about tweeting words of support or funny pictures about a legitimate cryptocurrency,” Musk’s lawyers said. “This court should put an end to the plaintiffs’ fantasy and dismiss the complaint.”
Musk’s latest antics have given dog-themed crypto a temporary punch in the arm.
When the CEO of Twitter replaced the blue bird logo with Doge’s, the value of the cryptocurrency soared 20% within hours. Before the public noticed, Doge was sitting around $0.07; hours later, it jumped to over $0.10. Now that the bluebird is back where it should be, Doge is down to $0.08.
However, the Dogefather might have barked up the wrong tree with his latest shenanigans. The Securities Exchange Commission, in particular Chairman Gary Gensler, argues that most cryptocurrencies are securities. And according to ReutersMusk’s actions could “help inform” the SEC about new regulations for the crypto industry.