Elon Musk says it would be 'awesome' if the SEC probes his tweets on Dogecoin

• Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he would welcome an SEC investigation into his tweets on Dogecoin.
• "I hope they do! It would be awesome," he tweeted in response to talk about a possible probe.
• Crypto skeptics have lashed out at blue-tick endorsements of coins like Dogecoin, fearing massive losses.

Elon Musk said it would be "awesome" if the Securities and Exchange Commission investigates his tweets that promoted the meme-based cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.

"I hope they do! It would be awesome," he tweeted on Thursday. The billionaire was responding to unverified reports that he may be under regulatory scrutiny for his consistent touting of the coin.

Musk's tweeting spree about the joke-based token on January 28 made its price quadruple in just four hours. His most recent tweets, including one that said "on the actual moon," sent Dogecoin soaring 25%. Earlier this month, he said he bought some for his 9-month-old son, X Æ A-Xii.

Crypto skeptics have lashed out at blue-tick endorsements of cryptocurrencies, warning against their influence over the market. "Headlines, tweets and endorsements are leading the masses to invest in cryptocurrency in an aim to get rich quick, but many are overlooking the volatility of the market, leading to big losses," said Natasha Wren, a senior account executive at The PHA Group.

Musk has had previous clashes with the SEC. The agency sued him in 2018 after he said he had secured the funding required to take Tesla private, alleging that Musk was not as close to acquiring financing for the deal as he indicated.

Both parties reached a settlement, under which he had to step down as the chairman of Tesla's board of directors for three years and pay a $20 million fine. Musk has also poked jabs at the agency, saying that the middle initial in "SEC" stands for Elon.