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Elon Musk is quite vocal about cryptocurrencies during events and especially on Twitter. Since he has invested heavily in crypto and is one of the wealthiest people alive, his views seem to drive the crypto market.
When he started tweeting his Shiba Inu puppy’s pictures, investors thought he was hinting at owning the crypto Shiba Inu. As a result, the price of Shiba Inu increased following his tweets.
However, he later revealed that he does not own Shiba Inu and has only invested in three cryptocurrencies. What does Elon Musk’s crypto portfolio look like? Here’s a look at the cryptocurrencies he holds.
Which Cryptocurrencies Does Elon Musk Own?
At The B Word conference in June 2021, Elon Musk said that he supports Bitcoin. He also revealed that Tesla might start accepting payments in Bitcoin again. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO further said that Bitcoin could be used for economic empowerment.
As revealed in his tweets and with confirmation at the conference, Elon Musk revealed he owns three cryptocurrencies:
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Dogecoin
Musk Believes in Crypto’s Future
At the conference, he further said that he has more Bitcoin than Dogecoin and Ethereum. The reason behind this is his firm belief in the currency. He doesn’t plan to sell his Bitcoin holdings since he does not believe in selling the crypto when the price is high.
He emphasized that he wants to see Bitcoin succeed. It’s evident from his views about Bitcoin that Elon Musk believes in the cryptocurrency’s long-term potential.
Although Musk’s interest in Ethereum and Bitcoin is valid due to the cryptos’ influence and feasibility in the DeFi space, his Dogecoin investment came as a surprise to many. He has even advocated for Dogecoin, a meme currency, which makes him different from other investors who don’t pay heed to meme coins.
SpaceX Employees Own Doge
Musk said that he invested in Doge because it seems like the people’s crypto. When he talked to people at SpaceX and Tesla, he discovered that most of them own Doge. He said that these people are neither Silicon Valley technologists nor financial experts. Since they supported Doge, however, it also made him invest in the currency.
Another reason Musk gave for investing in Doge is that he loves memes and dogs. He said it would be an entertaining and ironic outcome if a cryptocurrency that began as a meme to make fun of cryptocurrencies became the leading one in the market.
Here’s a closer look at Musk’s relationship with each of the three cryptocurrencies he owns.
Bitcoin
On the whole, Musk’s relationship with Bitcoin has been somewhat complicated.
Tesla and Bitcoin
In February 2021, Musk announced that Tesla had bought Bitcoin worth $1.5 billion. The company also announced that it would begin accepting Bitcoin as a payment method. The news led to an increase in the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
In March, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would accept Bitcoin as a payment method. In April, Bitcoin reached its all-time high of $64,863.10.
Later in May, Musk shocked Bitcoin enthusiasts when he recoiled on his decision to accept Bitcoin as a payment method for Tesla due to environmental concerns His announcement, coupled with other factors, led to a decline in Bitcoin’s price.
Twitter Misunderstandings
A few days later, the price of Bitcoin fell even further when a Twitter conversation created a misunderstanding. A user tweeted that they wouldn’t blame Musk for dumping his Bitcoin, considering the price decline. Musk replied to this tweet with “Indeed,” leading to investors believing that he may be planning to sell his Bitcoin.
However, the next day, the billionaire reassured the investors that Tesla was not planning to sell its Bitcoin.
Environmental Impact
Although Musk believes in Bitcoin’s potential, the billionaire is worried about the environmental impact of the cryptocurrency. His concerns are valid since Bitcoin’s carbon footprint is comparable to the carbon footprint of the whole of Uzbekistan.
Moreover, the currency’s electrical energy consumption is comparable to Thailand’s overall power consumption.
Dogecoin
Since he occasionally tweets about Dogecoin, Elon Musk has almost become the public face of the currency. He has been following Dogecoin since the currency’s release. In one of his Twitter posts, he said that Dogecoin might be his favorite currency since “It’s pretty cool.”
Twitter Impacts
In 2020, his tweets influenced the prices of Dogecoin significantly. However, the major effect was seen during Musk’s appearance as the host of Saturday Night Live, where he called himself the “Dogefather.”
In one of the show segments, Musk called the currency a “hustle,” and his statement made the coin’s price go down for the time.
Dogecoin Is a Better Option for Daily Transactions
In a recent interview. Elon Musk said that Dogecoin is a better option than Bitcoin when it comes to daily transactions. He said that Bitcoin isn’t a good substitute for transactional currency, whereas Dogecoin is more suited for transactions].
He also announced that Tesla would release some merch that could be bought with Doge. Musk’s announcement raised the price of Dogecoin by 23%.
Ethereum
In April 2019, Elon Musk tweeted: “Ethereum.” His single-word tweet increased the investors’ interest in the cryptocurrency. Additionally, it began an online conversation between the co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, and Elon Musk.
Later in the year, he responded to William Shatner’s tweet by saying that he isn’t building anything on Ethereum. He further said that he’s not against or for Ethereum. He just doesn’t use the currency, nor does he own it.
However, it now seems like he owns the currency since he said it’s one of the three currencies in which he has invested.
How will this Elon Musk crypto relationship further develop? Musk’s tweets and time will show.
Takeaway
Although Elon Musk’s tweets play a role in driving the crypto market, you shouldn’t base your investments on how an executive or influencer tweets about a cryptocurrency. Do your research and only invest in cryptocurrencies that have potential. In 2017, the SEC warned that it’s not a good idea to invest in something because a famous person says a certain service or product is a good investment.
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