If you are a crypto enthusiast, then you have to be familiar with the name Elon Musk. Crypto is a decentralised blockchain platform that depends on market demand and supply for value. The demand comes from various news and trends, developments and the influential personalities’ approach to cryptocurrencies.
Of all the individuals in the crypto world, the Tesla CEO, Elon Musk remains the most influential. He moves the crypto masses such that his mere tweet can lead to crypto market price changes. Some of his key impacts on the crypto world include;
Crypto transactions and investments
As a new form of medium of exchange, cryptos had earlier struggled to gain users. Only the tech-savvy who understand blockchain and computing were more welcoming to cryptos. However, for the regular investors, the lack of regulation and volatility seemed too much of a concern. Most people thought Bitcoin and other cryptos were only ideal for illegal transactions like money laundering and financing terrorism.
However, the negative attitude towards Bitcoin would change when Musk’s company, Tesla, announced they have part of their investments in Bitcoin. The company reported having invested around $1.5billion of its balance sheet on Bitcoin. The announcement led to an increase of Bitcoin price by around $3,000 in minutes.
A month later, Tesla announced they will be accepting Bitcoin for those purchasing its electric cars. The move led to unprecedentedly high adoption of crypto for mainstream use. Institutional investors started warming up to cryptos while other merchants also started accepting Bitcoin as a payment method.
The rise of the Dogecoin
The growth of Dogecoin as a cryptocurrency can solely be credited to Elon Musk. Even though it started as a joke, the coin rose to become a top ten crypto based on market cap due to Musk’s influence. At one point Dogecoin surpassed BTC in global interest. A report also established that most Americans are more familiar with Dogecoin than Ethereum.
A growth in Dogecoin has an impact on the whole crypto world. For example, those who earlier didn’t know anything about cryptos or blockchain can get to learn about it after Googling Dogecoin. This might result in an interest in the whole crypto space. Musk, therefore, is responsible for public awareness of crypto.
The crypto environmental assessment
One of Elon Musk’s most controversial crypto impacts was on the assessment of its environmental impact. After endorsing Bitcoin for some time, in mid-2021 Tesla stopped accepting Bitcoin payments. They claimed the mining process had adverse environmental impacts. This led to a massive crypto market decline as the environmentally conscious population started shying away from crypto.
However, since then various studies have looked into the impact of crypto on the environment. For example, while there was concern about too much power use, a study by Oxford established over 56% of the power used in Bitcoin mining comes from renewable sources. By speaking about the impacts of Bitcoin on the environment, Elon must have ensured other cryptos coming up must ensure proper environmental care.
Even though there have been arguments that Musk might lose his influence as people become more crypto aware, he currently still wields much power over the industry. His single tweet still has the power to determine market movements.