Investors in dogecoin have filed a motion to modify the terms of their ongoing class action lawsuit against Elon Musk, the departing CEO of Twitter. The amendment charges Musk with influencing the market price of the meme cryptocurrency to his advantage.
Dogecoin investors filed an adjustment request to their class action lawsuit against Elon Musk, the departing CEO of Twitter, on May 31. The complaining parties claim that Musk manipulated the price of dogecoin by taking advantage of his massive Twitter following and public profile. They claim that he subsequently took advantage of this rise by making clever deals in DOGE, earning profit from the backs of other investors.
Prior to Musk’s contentious purchase of Twitter but after his early attempts to promote dogecoin on the site, the initial lawsuit was filed in June 2022.
Based on Musk’s subsequent actions, the plaintiffs twice amended their case. They are now asking the court for permission to add insider trading charges to their original complaint and to make the case that Dogecoin fulfils the standards for being categorized as a security by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The newly amended lawsuit states: “This is a securities fraud class action arising from a deliberate course of carnival barking market manipulation and insider trading by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, who hijacked a growing pop-culture phenomenon to cross-promote himself and his companies, and to pad his obscene fortune, preying on the earnest hopes of vulnerable Americans, including war veterans, blue-collar workers, and the elderly.”
The price of Dogecoin has already increased as a result of Musk’s actions on Twitter, including switching the platform’s logo to the Dogecoin emblem. Musk has not yet responded to the most recent lawsuit amendment. The cryptocurrency newsletter Milk Road claims that Musk sold $124 million worth of DOGE after the action.
JUST IN: Elon Musk sued over #Dogecoin Twitter logo, alleging insider trading.
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) June 1, 2023
Despite reports that Twitter’s valuation has fallen by 33% since Musk took control in October 2022, his influence on the cryptocurrency markets continues to be a source of controversy and legal investigation.