en
Back to the list

Elon Musk Breaks Silence on Crypto, Warns Against Dogecoin Speculation

source-logo  blockworks.co 24 May 2023 04:23, UTC

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has maintained an air of intrigue with his prolonged silence regarding his position on crypto assets for months now.

Musk’s silence on crypto led some investors to interpret it as either a signal of waning interest or a strategic pause, waiting for the opportune moment to take action.

He briefly touched upon the topic of cryptocurrencies during the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in London this week, with a specific emphasis on dogecoin.

“I’m not advising anyone to buy crypto or bet the farm on dogecoin,” he said in a virtual conference, and cautioned against investing one’s life savings into the meme-inspired digital currency.

However, he did reiterate his fondness for dogecoin (DOGE) as his favorite cryptocurrency, citing its inherent humor and inclusion of dogs. He didn’t share any further insights or opinions on any other digital assets.

Musk’s engagement with dogecoin enthusiasts was earlier something of a spectacle, with a noticeable connection observed between the price of and the Tesla founder’s tweets.

Between 2019 and 2022, Musk tweeted about the memecoin multiple times, often resulting in temporary price increases.

In June 2022, investor Keith Johnson took legal action by filing a substantial $258 billion lawsuit against Musk, alleging his involvement in a pyramid scheme designed to manipulate the price of DOGE.

But Musk’s lawyers hit back, saying “there is nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion.”

Crypto enthusiasts were keen to know whether Musk would integrate crypto into Twitter after he assumed the role of CEO. While he hasn’t been open about any crypto-related plans, he made a temporary alteration to the micro-blogging site’s logo in April by replacing it with the iconic Shiba Inu image associated with the dogecoin meme.

This unexpected move too resulted in a surge in the price of DOGE.

DOGE last traded around 7 cents on Wednesday, and is down more than 9% in the last month, according to data from Blockworks Research.

blockworks.co