A lawsuit alleging that Elon Musk manipulated the price of Dogecoin is drawing to a close, as investors have decided to withdraw their appeal against a dismissal issued on August 29.
This case centered on accusations that Musk, one of the world’s richest individuals, and his electric vehicle company, Tesla, engaged in fraud and insider trading related to the dog-themed memecoin.
Both Parties Move To Dismiss Claims In Dogecoin Lawsuit
In their recent filings, the investors also retracted their request to impose sanctions on Musk’s legal team, claiming that the lawyers had interfered with the appeal process by demanding substantial legal fees.
Conversely, Musk and Tesla have rescinded their motion to sanction the investors’ attorney, accusing them of pursuing a “frivolous” case filled with evolving legal arguments to extort a quick settlement.
A stipulation to dismiss the appeal, along with motions from both parties, was filed in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday evening and is awaiting approval from US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.
As of Friday, neither Musk’s nor the investors’ legal representatives had responded to inquiries or made official statements regarding this development.
Court Finds No Grounds For Securities Fraud
The investors had charged that Musk “exploited” social media, including X (formerly Twitter) and an appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” to manipulate Dogecoin’s value allegedly, timing trades to coincide with his public statements.
However, in his August 29 ruling, Judge Hellerstein stated that reasonable investors could not establish securities fraud based solely on Musk’s social media posts, which included claims that Dogecoin was poised to become the “currency of the Earth” and could even be sent to the moon via SpaceX.
The judge further expressed confusion over the investors’ allegations of market manipulation and insider trading, suggesting that the claims lacked clarity and legal grounding. Initially, the investors sought a staggering $258 billion in damages, amending their complaint four times over two years.
At the time of writing, the largest memecoin, with a market cap of $52 billion, is trading at $0.356. Dogecoin has been one of the top performers in the industry’s top 10 digital assets, posting gains of 83% and nearly 190% over the seven—and thirty-day time frames, respectively.
This was spurred on by the news that Elon Musk would be heading up the new Trump Department of Government Efficiency, or its DOGE acronym, which investors saw as a further sign of support for the dog-themed memecoin.
Despite the recent surge, Dogecoin is still trading 50% below its all-time high of $0.731, set during the 2021 bull run, with high expectations for further gains in the year’s final months.
Featured image from BBC, chart from TradingView.com
Source: https://bitcoinist.com/dogecoin-lawsuit-appeal-withdrawn-elon-musk/