Tesla CEO Elon Musk: It is not possible for governments to destroy cryptocurrencies – The Financial Express

Earlier this year, Musk had tweeted that Tesla would stop accepting Bitcoin from customers for its electric cars amid concerns over the environmental impact of the virtual currency. Image Reuters

Crypto aficionado and Tesla CEO Elon Musk ‘thinks’ that it is not possible for governments to destroy cryptocurrencies while they can slow down the progress the crypto space has made. A long-time proponent of cryptocurrencies particularly bitcoin and dogecoin, Musk was speaking at the annual Code Conference on digital technologies in California. Answering a question on whether the US government should regulate the crypto space, Musk said, “It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto.” However, it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement, he added.

The US was expected to vote on the final passage of over $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which included provisions related to tax regulations around cryptocurrencies, earlier this week. The bill is now likely to be brought to the floor in the coming days. “I would say, do nothing,” Musk said at the conference earlier this week on the govt’s move to regulate crypto space. “I think there’s some value in cryptocurrency, but I wouldn’t say it’s the second coming of the Messiah,” he added. 

Musk also commented on the current scenario related to cryptocurrencies in China, noting that the country has “significant electricity generation issues.” “A lot of South China right now is having random power outages because the power demand is higher than expected. Crypto mining might be playing a role in that,” he said. China’s central bank People’s Bank of China had announced a complete crypto ban in a statement last month.

Also read: Crypto craze: Wealth managers, institutional investors set to invest in Bitcoin, others for first time

Events like China’s crypto ban had indicated why digital assets witnessed inflows worth $95 million last week, which took the total inflows over the past six weeks to $320 million, as investors saw that as buying opportunity, digital asset management firm CoinShares had said in its weekly report.

Earlier this year, Musk had tweeted that Tesla would stop accepting Bitcoin from customers for its electric cars amid concerns over the environmental impact of the virtual currency. However, in July at the Bitcoin-focused conference B Word, Musk had said Tesla would resume accepting bitcoin once he “confirm that the percentage of renewable energy usage is most likely at or above 50 per cent, and that there is a trend towards increasing that number,” Reuters had reported quoting Musk.

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