Tesla CEO Musk Only Owns 0.25 Bitcoin (BTC)
Last February, near the peak of the previous crypto bull run, Elon Musk took to Twitter to get his spot on the hype train. But his comment wasn’t what many were expecting. The Tesla chief executive and long-time technology guru noted that he “literally owns zero cryptocurrency,” save for 0.25 Bitcoin (BTC) that an unnamed friend sent him “many years ago.” At the time he issued that tweet, BTC was trading for $2,500, meaning that his crypto holdings were effectively nothing compared to his entire net worth.
Just one year later, the South African entrepreneur took to Twitter again to divulge a bit more about his personal finances, well in terms of crypto anyway. He wrote the following in response to a tweet from CoinDesk:
That said, I still only own 0.25 BTC, which a friend sent me several years ago. Don’t have any crypto holdings.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2019
While he doubled-down on his comment that he only owns 0.25 BTC, valued at just under $1,000 U.S. at the time of writing, some are convinced he holds a lot more. Twitter users quipped that one of the cardinal rules in the Bitcoin space is to not disclose personal holding, making some conclude that 0.25 is just the tip of Musk’s crypto iceberg. Others argued that the SpaceX chief executive, whose sole raison d’etre is to better humanity, is Satoshi Nakamoto himself, but isn’t willing to release the BTC locked up in the earliest addresses.
More rationally though, some claimed that 0.25 Bitcoin is likely all he holds. WhalePanda, an industry personality, noted that $1,000 in the flagship cryptocurrency is “a start.” The commentator added that in an interplanetary society, Bitcoin could be a logical medium of exchange.
Binance’s very own Changpeng Zhao joked that he would accept a Tesla car in exchange for some cryptocurrency, asking Musk to trade.
Many other industry participants made similar, fun comments.
The Tesla heavyweight didn’t respond to any of the sub-tweets except one, in which he stated that those who have “early BTC” deserve Nobel Prizes. Musk hasn’t lost his sense of humor, that’s for sure.
He Still Thinks Crypto > Banknotes Though
These recent comments come after he took to ARK Invest’s “FYI” podcast to touch on cryptocurrencies and their merits. Per previous reports from Ethereum World News, Musk noted that the “Bitcoin structure was (is) quite brilliant,” adding that Ethereum and “maybe some of the others” have merit too. Musk did admit that he isn’t too enamored with Bitcoin’s Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, noting that it is energy intensive.
Yet, he explained that fundamentally, crypto assets are great as they bypass currency controls, especially in nations embroiled in financial and political turmoil, like Venezuela. He added that cryptocurrencies are also a “far better way to transfer value than pieces of paper,” subsequently quipping that he’s sure of this “without a doubt.”
Musk’s pro-Bitcoin comments come after Jack Dorsey of Twitter claimed that he likes the cryptocurrency’s underlying values and improvements like the Lightning Network.
Silicon Valley seems to be in love with crypto, but will they act on their enamorment?
Photo by André François McKenzie on Unsplash
