Dogecoin Lawsuit Ends After Appeal Dropped

A long-running legal battle over Dogecoin and Elon Musk finally ended after investors chose to drop their appeal in a Thursday filing on November 14, 2024.

Investors in a long-running legal battle over Dogecoin and Elon Musk have dropped their appeal, finally ending the case.

The lawsuit, which began in 2022, had accused Musk and his company, Tesla, of manipulating Dogecoin’s price for personal gain. The case centered on Musk’s public remarks and actions, such as his appearance on Saturday Night Live, where he called Dogecoin a “hustle.” Investors argued that these statements, along with Musk’s tweets, had inflated Dogecoin’s value, leading to big losses when the price later dropped. Musk was also accused of insider trading and manipulating the market.

The lawsuit initially sought a massive $258 billion in damages. However, in August 2024, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein threw out the case, ruling that Musk’s tweets, such as calling Dogecoin the “future currency of Earth,” did not count as securities fraud. The judge also dismissed the insider trading claims, stating that there was insufficient evidence to support the accusations.

Following the dismissal, the investors, in an attempt to overturn the decision, appealed the ruling and requested sanctions against Musk’s legal team, accusing them of interfering with the appeal process. However, this week, the investors dropped both the appeal and the request for sanctions, effectively concluding the case. This agreement was filed in a federal court in Manhattan and now awaits final approval from Judge Hellerstein.

During the legal proceedings, the Dogecoin Foundation, which represents the community behind Dogecoin, worked to separate its core developers and founders from the case. The foundation expressed relief as the lawsuit reached its end, especially considering that many individuals who were initially included in the lawsuit had been cleared early on.

“We're glad this is finally over. We took on defending uninvolved core developers, founders, & community members initially named in this suit & were glad to have them removed early on, but we could’ve imagined much nicer uses for high five figures in legal fees spent on this,” stated Dogecoin Foundation.

Dogebox Empowers Dogecoin Nodes and Payments

With the case officially concluded, the Dogecoin Foundation is focusing on Dogebox, a new project that aims to help users easily run their own full Dogecoin node, accept Dogecoin payments, and build apps on the Dogecoin blockchain. Elon Musk, who has consistently supported Dogecoin, continues to play a crucial role in raising its profile.

However, Musk's legal challenges are not over. Just this week, President-elect Donald Trump appointed Musk to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. Simultaneously, Musk is involved in a legal dispute with OpenAI and Microsoft, as his AI company, xAI, accuses the tech giants of engaging in unfair business practices.

Despite the ongoing drama, Dogecoin is still garnering attention. Recently, prominent crypto analyst Ali Martinez reported that large whales have purchased over $56 million worth of Dogecoin in just 24 hours. As of November 16, 2024, Dogecoin is priced at $0.3645, showing an 8% decrease in the last 24 hours, according to CNF's Dogecoin Price Index.