Billionaire Elon Musk has long been a strong supporter of Bitcoin and the crypto industry. And today he took that support further and said that since Bitcoin is an energy, it cannot be faked, unlike fiat currencies.
Recently, Elon Musk reignited interest in the connection between energy use and Bitcoin. Musk referred to the core tenet of Bitcoin, energy, in a widely shared tweet, emphasising that whereas fiat money may be produced artificially, energy is an unfakeable resource.
Bitcoin and Energy
This claim has sparked debates among the cryptocurrency community over the relative merits of Bitcoin as a currency and the environmental effects of mining it.
The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla said this to a post article on governments using money printing to finance the “artificial intelligence arms race,” which is pushing up the price of Bitcoin, silver, and gold.
Renowned cryptocurrency expert Quinten Francois retweeted the tweet, sparking more discussions on digital currency validity and sustainability.
The process of mining Bitcoin is energy-intensive, requiring a lot of electricity to run computers and solve challenging mathematical problems. The network is protected, and fresh Bitcoin enters the system through mining.
Although it’s unclear what Musk was talking about, the apex cryptocurrency has a history of using the term “energy.”
Last month, Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor described Bitcoin as “digital energy,” like fire, electricity, or oil, that can move billions of dollars’ worth of value over time and distance.
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Elon Musk and his support for Bitcoin
The on-chain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence estimates that Musk’s electric vehicle giant Tesla holds 11,509 BTC, or $1.3 billion.
The electric auto giant previously accepted Bitcoin as a payment option for vehicles before discontinuing the practice due to concerns about the energy consumption used in the mining process. However, Musk stated he will accept BTC payments if Bitcoin is mined with around 50% clean energy.
Earlier this year, we reported, Musk declared that his newly floated “America Party” would embrace the top cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin’s Price Actions
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at $110,590.75 and is down by 4% in the last 24 hours. The global market cap is at $2.19 trillion. The 24-hour trading volume is down by 17.75%. After the bloodbath last week in the crypto market, the largest cryptocurrency is slowly regaining its position.
Musk’s comment is a provocative shorthand that pushes the narrative of Bitcoin as “energy-backed,” but it doesn’t settle the complex questions it raises: energy consumption alone doesn’t answer environmental concerns or also fully establish monetary status.
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