Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has denied allegations of owning any Dogecoin (DOGE) wallets linked to insider trading. The allegations were made in an ongoing class action lawsuit against Musk and Tesla, which accuses them of manipulating the cryptocurrency market.
The lawsuit alleges that Musk orchestrated a deliberate course of carnival barking, market manipulation, and insider trading to artificially inflate the price of Dogecoin, a popular meme cryptocurrency that he has been promoting on social media, by over 36,000%. Also, the lawsuit highlights various instances, including a tweet featuring a picture of a dog smoking a cigarette with the caption “Dogecoin Rulz”.
Elon Musk Says he has no control over Dogecoin Price
In response to the lawsuit, Elon Musk has denied the allegations stating that he has no control over the price of Dogecoin and that his tweets about the cryptocurrency are meant to be jokes. Meanwhile, the allegations against Elon Musk highlight the role that social media can play in cryptocurrency markets. Musk’s tweets about Dogecoin have had a significant impact on the price of the cryptocurrency, with some investors seeing them as a signal to buy or sell.
However, court records revealed that two wallets connected to the 51-year-old entrepreneur sold 1.4 billion Dogecoins in April, which is about $124 million. Although Musk’s attorney dismisses claims saying they lacked concrete evidence. Ultimately, the court will carry out a proper investigation to determine the extent of Musk’s involvement with Dogecoin.
SEC Cautions Against Market Manipulation with Social Media
Undoubtedly, the use of social media to manipulate cryptocurrency markets is a growing concern for regulators. As such, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned that social media influencers who promote cryptocurrencies without disclosing their financial interests could be violating securities laws. Likewise, the allegations against Elon Musk highlight the need for transparency in the crypto industry.
Recall that in April, the renowned tech billionaire changed the traditional logo of Twitter to that of the meme coin, DOGE. This sparked reactions from many users as they took it to different social media platforms, giving their take on the development in a humorous way. Although, Elon Musk changing the Twitter logo paved the way for the price of DOGE to shoot up a few hours after the change.
