KEY POINTS
- The Tesla CEO said he will, 'at most' promote crypto 'in a joking way'
- He noted that he remains a huge fan of $DOGE because he likes dogs and memes
- His comments were made after Donald Trump's Bitcoin 2024 keynote address
Tech titan Elon Musk has not said much about Bitcoin in the past, even as he is a known huge fan of the memecoin Dogecoin ($DOGE), but in a recent virtual appearance, he acknowledged that there is, at least, "some merit" in the world's largest cryptocurrency by market value.
Earlier $BTC views
Late in 2020, Musk took to then-Twitter to say "Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money." At the time, $BTC maximalist and former Blockstream executive Samson Mow challenged him to a debate, which he did not respond to.
Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2020
Latest $BTC views
During a surprise appearance at the X Takeover podcast Sunday, the Tesla CEO revealed that he will not promote cryptocurrency, "at most in a joking way." He went on to say that he does think "there's some merit in Bitcoin and maybe some other crypto," marking what could be his latest take on the world's first decentralized digital asset in months.
NEW: 🔔 Elon Musk says on the 𝕏 Takeover Podcast that you won’t see him promoting crypto anytime soon.
— DΛVID 🟢 (@DavidShares) July 29, 2024
“I'm not going to be promoting crypto, at most in a joking way. If you see me pumping crypto, it's not me. I do think there's merit in Bitcoin and maybe some other cryptos,… pic.twitter.com/G9FYutT2xU
Musk warming up to Bitcoin?
His latest statements about Bitcoin were made about two months after he said he was "generally in favor of things that shift power from government to the people, which crypto can do."
His statements were also made a day after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump took the Nakamoto Stage at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville to express his support for Bitcoiners and the right to self-custody of digital assets.
Still a $DOGE fan
Despite his reiteration that he won't be "pumping" crypto anytime soon, he did say that he has "a soft spot for Dogecoin because I like dogs and memes." $DOGE is the largest memecoin by market value, as per data from CoinGecko, with over $18 billion market cap.
A Bitcoin track record
Musk may have not been as vocally supportive of the Bitcoin community as they are urging him to be, but it appears Tesla is a "hodler," a term used in the crypto space to describe a $BTC holder who holds the coin for the long-term.
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence revealed earlier this year that the electric vehicle behemoth did not sell any of its over 11,000 $BTC holdings.
It also turns out that the SpaceX founder holds Bitcoin himself, at least according to prominent pseudonymous crypto trader HODL15Capital, who revealed that Musk is the top billionaire among a list of 40 with most number of Bitcoins. His 208 $BTC is far ahead of the four bitcoins held by MicroStrategy's executive chairman Michael Saylor, who is a known Bitcoin maximalist.
