Twitter Users "Tesla Sold Bitcoin" Musk "It's True"
Bitcoin and Ethereum Plunge 9%... Experts "Respect for Musk Has Disappeared"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Elon Musk, CEO of the American electric vehicle company Tesla, hinted that Tesla has either sold all of its Bitcoin holdings or plans to sell them soon. As a result, the prices of major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, have sharply declined.
According to CNBC on the 16th (local time), Musk responded "Indeed" to a tweet on the social networking service Twitter, where a user wrote, "If Bitcoin enthusiasts find out that Tesla has sold all its Bitcoin holdings by next quarter, they will be in a lot of trouble themselves."
Following Musk's response, the interpretation that Tesla may have already sold all its Bitcoin holdings has led to a continued downward trend in Bitcoin prices. According to CoinDesk, as of 7:15 AM Korean time on the 17th, Bitcoin was priced at $45,853, dropping about 8% compared to 12 hours earlier. Ethereum also fell about 8%, recording $3,540.
Previously, Musk was a strong supporter of Bitcoin, and earlier this year, Tesla announced the purchase of $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, which was credited with driving a Bitcoin rally. Tesla also announced plans to accept Bitcoin as a payment method for purchasing Tesla vehicles.
However, on the 12th, Musk abruptly stopped accepting Bitcoin payments, citing environmental concerns, and on the 16th, he made remarks suggesting that Tesla may have sold all its Bitcoin holdings, triggering the decline in Bitcoin prices.
As a result, Bitcoin investors criticized Musk for disrupting the market. Fred Wilson, co-founder of Union Square Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, criticized Musk, saying, "He is gambling," and "All the respect built up over the past few years has disappeared."
Musk is now promoting Dogecoin instead of Bitcoin. Calling himself the "Doge father," he announced on the 9th that his space exploration company SpaceX will accept Dogecoin as a payment method for a lunar exploration mission scheduled for early next year.
As of 7:15 AM Korean time on the 17th, Dogecoin was priced at $0.5012, down nearly 6% from $0.5314 recorded 12 hours earlier.
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