The outspoken proponents of Bitcoin are having a hard time due to Elon Musk's tweets. First, Musk's announcement last week that Tesla won't accept payment in Bitcoin, triggered a 17% slide in the world's most popular cryptocurrency. Second, Tesla CEO has taken it upon himself to counter pro-Bitcoin arguments through environmental questions attached to Bitcoin mining.
The price of Bitcoin traded below $45,000 on Monday after a tweet by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a supporter of cryptocurrency, suggested Tesla may be considering or may have sold off its bitcoin holdings.
Musk's tweet was in response to an unverified Twitter account called @CryptoWhale, which said, "Bitcoiners are going to slap themselves next quarter when they find out Tesla dumped the rest of their #Bitcoin holdings. With the amount of hate @elonmusk is getting, I wouldn't blame him…".
Musk replied "indeed" without specifying whether Tesla had sold off its bitcoin holdings or that he simply agreed with the sentiment that he faced criticism.
Last week, Musk said Tesla will no longer accept bitcoin for car purchases, citing long-brewing environmental concerns for a swift reversal in the company's position on the cryptocurrency.
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In February, Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. In a filing with the United States' Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it bought the bitcoin for “more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on cash."
With inputs from Bloomberg
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