Crypto Law Founder Warns Musk His DOGE Tweets Could Get Him In Legal Trouble With SEC

John Deaton, the founder of Crypto Law, a legal and regulatory news site for digital assets in the U.S., has warned Tesla CEO Elon Musk that his tweets about Dogecoin (DOGE) might get him in legal trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Musk is a crypto advocate that many investors look up to because his tweets can pump the price of a particular asset or send it plummeting. His recent tweet about Starlink accepting Dogecoin as a form of payment soon led to a surge in DOGE price, which has not seen a significant price hike over the past months.

But Deaton tagged the tech billionaire in one of his tweets over the weekend, saying "Be careful @elonmusk because @GaryGensler and the SEC might try and call #DOGE coin an investment contract with you and your companies." Gary Gensler is the chairman of the SEC.

Deaton's warning came after he responded to another tweet complaining about Gensler's unfair treatment of Musk and Ripple. "Elon tweets about $DOGE & it jumps #Ripple has a deal with just about every major financial institution & $XRP still gets suppressed bc Gary Gensler is holding them hostage ... thanks for your protection Gary," the tweet said.

While the Twitter user does not intend for the SEC to sue Musk, the Crypto Law founder noted that it is a possibility, and warned the Tesla CEO. The SEC might consider DOGE as an investment contract of Musk and the companies he owns or cotrols.

Musk has not yet responded to the tweet, but he has been a significant factor in the rise and fall of the prices of some digital assets. His hosting debut in the American TV show "Saturday Night Live" was one of the factors that triggered DOGE's price to skyrocket to its all-time high price of $0.73157800 on May 8 last year.

DOGE was trading down 1.55% at $0.08082, with a 24-hour volume of $468,402,149, as of 12:42 a.m. ET on Sunday, data from CoinMarketCap showed.