Bitcoin prices rallied on Sunday after Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter that the company might start accepting the cryptocurrency again as a mode of payment when miners, who verify transactions, use more renewable energy. Following this tweet, the total value of all bitcoin jumped by $78.2bn.
“When there’s confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing Bitcoin transactions,” Musk Tweeted on Sunday.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Following his statement, the value of bitcoin rose nearly 10% to $39,333.76 on Monday, breaking above its 20-day moving average. The total market value of bitcoin is now $736,840,027,996.
Musk’s tweet was a response to an article based on remarks from Magda Wierzycka, head of cybersecurity from Syngia, who accused the Tesla CEO of “price manipulation” and selling a “big part” of his exposure in a radio interview last week.
“This is inaccurate,” Musk responded in his tweet. “Tesla only sold ~10% of holdings to confirm BTC could be liquidated easily without moving market.”
The value of the world’s largest and best-known cryptocurrency has circled around the electric vehicle (EV) brand and its CEO since Tesla announced a $1.5bn bitcoin purchase in February and said it would accept the cryptocurrency as payment for its cars.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataLast month, however, Musk backtracked on this decision citing environmental concerns linked to cryptocurrency mining. Verdict though has recently reminded readers that, relatively speaking, bitcoin mining uses an insignificant amount of energy.
Following Musk’s 180-degree turn, the value of bitcoin fell around 12%. Verdict reported that, in fact, very few people were buying Teslas with bitcoin – if any at all. During the seven weeks in which it was possible to buy an EV using cryptocurrency, there were no official reports that this was actually done.
In addition, the cryptocurrency market faced significant pushback from various national governments, notably from China. Last month, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) voiced its intention to crack down on cryptocurrency mining and trading. Shortly after, Iran also pulled the plug on the nation’s mining practices.
Ether, the coin linked to the Ethereum blockchain network, surged 7% to $2,532.77 on Sunday following the news.
