Dogecoin co-founder calls on SEC to refund taxes as Coinbase lawsuit heats up

Amid the brewing legal battle between the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and crypto exchange Coinbase, Dogecoin (DOGE) co-creator Billy Markus has asked for a tax refund. Markus, who goes by the alias Shibetoshi Nakamoto on X, disagreed with the SEC's assertion that cryptos lack intrinsic value. The demand for the tax refund comes in the wake of the SEC's response to a dismissal motion by Coinbase.

Dogecoin co-founder questions SEC's crypto stance

Billy Markus, popularly known as Shibetoshi Nakamoto on X.com (formerly Twitter), took to the microblogging site to criticize the SEC's stance on cryptocurrency. He wrote, "[T]hen return all the taxes y’all [SEC] made me pay for receiving it [crypto] you horrific evil hypocrites." 

The remark elicited responses from “DogeFather” Elon Musk, who emphasized the realness of cryptocurrencies when it comes to tax payments.

Markus slammed the watchdog, stating, "its realness is transitory."

Marshall Hayner, CEO and co-founder of Metallicus and Dogecoin Foundation board member, also took a jibe and said, “It’s of no real value”, later adding “we need some of that value to fund the government”.

The debate stemmed from the SEC's response filed on October 3 to Coinbase's motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against it. The SEC's position in the lawsuit that was filed in June is that some cryptocurrencies on Coinbase, if considered investment contracts under the Howey test, should be subject to SEC registration. 

In the filing, the agency emphasized that cryptocurrencies possess no inherent value. The SEC said, "If crypto assets embody some underlying value (like an entry on a ledger), that value is accessed through the digital token."

"But the token (which is just software) has no innate or inherent value of its own—it is tied to its underlying value, which for the crypto assets at issue in this case, is the investment contract,” the agency added. 

DOGE and the broader crypto market remain subdued 

The broader cryptocurrency market displayed minimal activity on Monday. According to CoinGecko calculations, the global cryptocurrency market cap stands at $1.13 trillion, marking a slight -0.1% change in the past 24 hours. Leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and major altcoins experienced price stagnation.

Dogecoin (DOGE) witnessed a 1% price decline in the 24-hour time frame. Over the past week, DOGE lost 4%, bringing its market cap to $8.5 billion. 

Meanwhile, Coinbase Global, a publicly-traded company listed on the NASDAQ exchange, has seen some positive movement since the lawsuit's initiation. According to Yahoo Finance data, Coinbase Global (COIN) stock closed at $78.46 on Friday with a 5% gain. Coinbase has a 52-week price range of $31.55 to $114.43, making it a volatile stock due to regulatory focus. 

However, the cryptocurrency market might continue to experience fluctuations due to the rapidly changing regulatory framework.