Elon Musk said in a tweet on Sunday that Tesla would allow transactions in Bitcoin once mining is done with clear energy. He added that he wants miners to use about 50% clean energy in order to adopt the cryptocurrency.
The Cambridge Center For Alternative Finance has estimated that 39% of crypto mining is powered by renewable resources, mainly hydroelectric. Following Musk’s tweet, Bitcoin jumped almost 10% and traded at $39,580 on Sunday.
The tweet came as a reply to a report in CoinTelegraph that cited the executive chair of South African asset manager Sygnia, Magda Wierzycka, as saying that Musk’s recent tweets about Bitcoin should have prompted an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange.
Musk has been swaying the value of Bitcoin with his decisions and views about the cryptocurrency since the beginning of the year. In February, Tesla announced it had purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and signalled its intention of accepting the cryptocurrency as payment for vehicles. In March, Musk tweeted “you can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin” and then later reversed his decision in May due to concerns about fossil fuel usage for Bitcoin mining and transactions.
References:
!) Ossinger, J., & Silver, J. (2021, June 13). Bitcoin Jumps After Musk Says Tesla Will Use When Mining Cleaner. Bloomberg.com.
2) Tom Westbrook, T. W. (2021, June 14). Bitcoin tops $40,000 after Musk says Tesla could use it again. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bitcoin-jumps-after-musk-says-tesla-could-use-it-again-2021-06-14/.
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