Bitcoin reached a new historic record on Friday after Tesla chief Elon Musk called cryptocurrency “less dumb” than money.
The price of the world’s largest digital currency rose to a record high of $ 52,954.49 after Musk fired a couple of tweets defending Tesla’s decision to buy $ 1.5 billion in bitcoin and explaining why the electric car maker didn’t buy Dogecoin, your favorite meme. inspired cryptocurrency.
“Tesla’s action does not directly reflect my opinion,” Musk tweeted Thursday night. “Having a little bit of Bitcoin, which is simply a less stupid form of liquidity than money, is an adventure enough for an S & P500 company.”
The billionaire tech tycoon was responding to a Bloomberg Interview with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who runs the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
Zhao said he was surprised that Musk was so “excited” about Dogecoin, that it exploded in value and popularity this year when he and other celebrities adopted him. But Zhao noted that Tesla decided to invest in bitcoin instead of a cult cryptocurrency that was created as a joke.
Musk suggested that the cryptocurrency had become a smart investment as central banks pushed cash interest rates close to or below zero.
“When the fiat currency has negative real interest, only a fool would not look elsewhere,” he tweeted, referring to a term for currency issued by the government that is not supported by a physical commodity such as gold.
“Bitcoin is almost as cheap as fiat money. The keyword is ‘almost’, ”added Musk, echoing comments he made in December, when he first expressed an interest in shifting Tesla’s balance sheet to bitcoin.
The latest bullish remarks about bitcoin came amid a growing perception that digital currency offers protection against inflation.
Tesla’s successful bitcoin investment – which came with an announcement that the automaker would accept bitcoin as payment – was one of several recent signs that cryptocurrency is gaining traction in the conventional business world.
Mastercard said it hopes to support certain cryptographic transactions on its network this year, and BNY Mellon, the country’s oldest bank, recently announced that it would start providing banking services for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.