Bitcoin Opinion
ByAuthor J.D. SmithPosted on
37
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Elon Musk unfazed by rumored possibility of SEC probe into Dogecoin tweets

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Rumors of a possible investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission into Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s alleged impact on Dogecoin’s (DOGE) price moves have been circulating on social media over the past day — a phenomenon that one Twitter user has quipped is “peak 2021.” 

Musk’s previous showdowns with the SEC notwithstanding, the CEO appears to be unfazed about the possibility of an all-too-real legal fallout sparked by his penchant for the meme cryptocurrency. Musk’s professed love for “dogs & memes” has spurred him to repeatedly post jocular memes about Dogecoin, most recently one showing the DOGE mascot “on the actual moon.” 

While the reference apes trader lingo for stratospheric price action and could therefore be construed as some form of endorsement, Musk has publicly said that for all his love of the meme cryptocurrency, he is partial to Bitcoin (BTC) when it comes to strategic personal and corporate investment. That hasn’t stopped the CEO’s tweeting, however tongue-in-cheek, from providing some serious fuel for meme coin market volatility — Dogecoin Christmas 2020 being just one instance. 

Musk’s apparently all-too-real impact on the price movements of both cryptocurrencies, given his enormous social media following, makes disentangling meme fun from celebrity shilling almost impossible. Legal advisors have previously voiced their opinion that the CEO could already be in for scrutiny from the SEC after his documented influence on Bitcoin’s price moves this year.

Both the prospect of an SEC investigation and the prospect of DOGE’s metamorphosis into “a real currency” remain, for now, parallel meme-like and humorous eventualities in the CEO’s imagination. Musk’s previous SEC battles back in 2018 may have had real ramifications for the CEO, resulting in his removal as chairman of the Tesla board and the payment of financial penalties, but he seems unlikely to give up on his Twitter kicks just yet.

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12
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