Two weeks ago, Elon Musk — the prominent entrepreneur that has played a key role in companies like PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, SolarCity, and a number of other technology firms — published the innuendo-filled tweet below.
Bitcoin is *not* my safe word
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 10, 2020
This was far from the first time in mentioned cryptocurrency is a joking context on Twitter.
Per previous reports from this very outlet, on April Fool’s Day last year, the technologist joked that Dogecoin, a long-standing digital asset for fun-loving, meme-centric netizens, might actually be his favorite cryptocurrency.
Musk later took the mantle as the first (and last) ‘CEO’ of Dogecoin. The entrepreneur quickly replaced his Twitter biography with a short “CEO of Dogecoin.”
And there was that one time when Musk pretended to be an Ethereum scam bot on Twitter.
While Musk has a habit of poking fun at the cryptocurrency community as seen above, the prominent technologist actually has a developed thesis on digital assets, specifically in regards to what problems they can solve in the future and what threats they can pose in the current.
Elon Musk Bumps Crypto
On an episode of the Third Row Tesla Podcast published just the other day, Musk was asked about his thoughts on cryptocurrency.
Starting his train of thought first with “clever” to “What did you think of Satoshi’s white paper?,” the Tesla visionary said that there are obviously crypto transactions not made in “the balance of the law.”
Musk did, though, say that he sees “crypto as effectively a replacement for cash,” yet made it clear that he doesn’t expect for a digital asset to become “the primary database.”
Musk’s latest comments are somewhat reminiscent of those he made on cryptocurrency nearly exactly one year ago.
Speaking to ARK Invest, an investment group and research firm that earlier this year laid the case for a $1 trillion BTC market cap in a report, Musk said in 2019 that he really likes the underlying structure of the Bitcoin blockchain, but brought up his skepticism of the energy-intensive Proof of Work model.
Yet at the time he asserted that cryptocurrencies in and of themselves are inherently better than paper fiat money, as such assets provide meaningful benefits that are especially useful in underprivileged nations.
Despite his belief that digital assets will replace cash or at least will try to, the legendary entrepreneur has yet to announce any intentions to make a company involving cryptocurrency, though he has been spotted reading a Bitcoin-related book — for whatever that’s worth.
Not the Only “Mainstream” Crypto Fan
The Tesla chief executive is far from the only mainstream entrepreneur or investor that believes in cryptocurrency’s potential to change the current financial system.
Reid Hoffman, former co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn, has become a board member of Bitcoin infrastructure giant Blockstream, and even once used the Lightning Network on Twitter as a support for the technology and its potential to change the world.
There’s also Jack Dorsey, the head of both Twitter and fintech company Square. Dorsey said on the Joe Rogan Podcast that he thinks Bitcoin will soon become the native currency of the Internet, before adding in an earnings call for Square that he “loves Bitcoin.”
Even some U.S. politicians have entered the Bitcoin game. Kelly Loeffler was the chief executive of Bitcoin exchange Bakkt before being sworn in as a Senator, and Congressman Patrick McHenry called Bitcoin an “unstoppable force” in a session on the Hill.
The post Elon Musk Doubles Down: “Crypto Is a Cash Replacement” appeared first on Blockonomi.
January 24, 2020 at 08:19AM https://blockonomi.com from Blockonomi https://ift.tt/2sTTsLX
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