Elon Musk is probably one of the most significant crypto influencers globally, having fueled stupendous demand for memecoins. His presence and support for the crypto space are essential, primarily due to Elon being one of the wealthiest mainstream businessmen. Moreover, Elon Musk’s technology background grants him probably the most powerful domination over the crypto industry. To learn more about Elon Musk cryptocurrency relationship, let’s have a look at the history between them:
Elon Musk – Cryptocurrency: A Brief History
Elon Musk has been an advocate of Bitcoin for a long time. However, he seriously committed to the crypto space in 2019, when he began exploring the potential of cryptocurrencies. Time and again, rumors have popped up of Elon being the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin – Satoshi Nakamoto. While Elon categorically denied the claim, he continued his support for the token, eventually accepting it for payments at Tesla.
However, the most famous role of Elon Musk was in the meteoric rise of the first memecoin – Dogecoin. The techno tycoon sparked the demand for DOGE in early 2019 by joking about the currency on Twitter. Soon, prices skyrocketed, creating a new niche in the crypto space for meme tokens. Elon became popular within the DOGE community, with 4,000+ members picking him as their CEO choice over Vitalik Buterin.
Commenting on Elon Musk’s role in the current crypto market scenario, Blockwiz CEO Dev Sharma said,
“Elon Musk is not just some billionaire who is fiddling around with a new investment product. He is a technology geek and understands the depths of cryptocurrencies. Therefore, it is not a surprise that his tweets can single-handedly drive demands for digital assets. The latest jump of 3-4% in BTC prices following his tweet is a testimony to this fact.”
That said, there have many bumps in this relationship. In May 2021, Elon Musk announced that Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin payments, citing environmental concerns around Bitcoin mining. While there were indications of Tesla resuming Bitcoin payments, it stays suspended as of today. Interestingly, Elon Musk announced in January 2022 that Tesla will accept Dogecoin payments for brand merchandise.
What’s Up with Elon Musk and Crypto Now?
Elon Musk has openly stated that his crypto holdings include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. The Tesla chief continues to command significant influence in the industry, and his tweets affect trends regularly. For instance, Elon tweeted that he is not selling out his crypto holding amid the ongoing bearish trend. This has resulted in BTC, ETH, and DOGE prices soaring, bringing some relief to investors between a downward trend.
Apart from his influence over demand trends, Elon Musk also holds the position to revolutionize the industry. Environmental concerns about Bitcoin are a big issue, with BTC mining accounting for 1% of global energy consumption. Elon has singled out this very problem for his reluctance to adopt BTC. However, the tech giant has indicated that he will help miners develop greener processes, changing the game entirely.
On the other hand, Elon Musk also warns people to be cautious with their crypto investments. Last year, he advised people to stop relying upon cryptocurrency exchanges and take ownership of their wallet keys. Likewise, he also advised people to desist from investing heavily in cryptocurrency and focus on building products and services. This indicates that Elon Musk is emerging as a crypto educator, though not all crypto leaders would like it.
Future of this Relationship: It’s Complicated!
Elon Musk is holding crypto as far as one can see – that’s for sure.
With getting that straight, the future of the relationship between Elon Musk and the crypto space is complicated. On the one hand, he strongly backs the ethos of the crypto space – decentralization and financial freedom. But on the other hand, Elon has been cautious in the commercial crypto adoption, the prime example being Tesla discontinuing BTC payments. Similarly, his opinion of investing in real products and services being better than crypto investments is also quite contrasting.
However, the positive prospects with Elon Musk’s involvement in the crypto space include the rise of utility-focused projects. Bitcoin’s lack of utility is one reason he has highlighted as an incapable financial asset. Moreover, Tesla is going all out on green energy, transforming the mining landscape. Once Tesla successfully reduces the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining, we could see a boom in demand.
