Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla Inc., arrives on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at the Axel Springer Awards Ceremony in Berlin, Germany.
Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Elon Musk came out on Friday as a believer in bitcoin – and now it’s doubling.
The head of the billionaire Tesla last week added the hashtag #bitcoin to his biography on Twitter, in a move that contributed to the summary increase of the cryptocurrency price by up to 20%.
In a discussion about the popular Clubhouse audio application late Sunday, Musk confirmed that he is a supporter of bitcoin.
“I have to look at what I’m saying here, because some of these things can really move the market,” Musk said. “Many of my friends have been trying for a long time to persuade me to get involved in bitcoin.”
Musk said he once ate a slice of “bitcoin cake” a friend gave him in 2013 and that “clearly … he should have bought at least bitcoin eight years ago – let’s talk about the delay in party”.
“Right now, I think bitcoin is a good thing and I’m a supporter of bitcoin,” Musk said.
“I think Bitcoin is about to gain widespread acceptance by people in the field of conventional finance.”
Musk added that he does not have a “strong opinion” on other virtual currencies. He posted on Twitter about the dogecoin cryptocurrency based on memes in the past and, in 2019, indicated that it was “fav’s cryptocurrency”.
Last week, dogecoin rose to 800% in 24 hours after a tweet from Musk was taken by Reddit users to indicate that they were throwing their support behind the symbol.
“Occasionally they make jokes about dogecoin, but they’re meant to be just jokes,” Musk said Sunday. “Dogecoin was made as a joke to play cryptocurrencies.”
“But fate loves irony,” he joked. “The funniest and most ironic result would be that the dogecoin will become the currency of the Earth in the future.”
Cryptocurrency markets have been largely shaken by Musk’s comments, with bitcoin and dogecoin actually falling shortly after he spoke. Dogecoin has risen another 40% in the last 24 hours, after a massive decline over the weekend.
Bitcoin has more than quadrupled in the past year. It then hit a new record high of nearly $ 42,000 in early 2021. Bullish investors say the digital currency has gained momentum due to increased institutional interest and the perception that it is a gold-like refuge asset.