Musk denies encouraging people to invest in crypto
Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he hasn’t ever urged people to invest in crypto
Tesla CEO Elon Musk addressed the current crypto market during a talk with Bloomberg at the Qatar Economic Forum, specifically denying that he ever urged people to invest in cryptocurrencies.
When asked about the recent “carnage” on the crypto market, which has seen the price of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether fall considerably, and whether people should still invest in decentralised assets, Musk responded by saying that he had never said people should invest in crypto in the first place.
Musk said: “I have never said that people should invest in crypto. In the case of Tesla, SpaceX, myself, we all did buy some Bitcoin, but it’s a small percentage of our total cash assets.”
Musk also said that a recession in the US looks “inevitable at some point”.
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Support for Dogecoin
While Musk has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrencies, he reiterated that he will continue to support Dogecoin and is continuing to purchase the cryptocurrency despite its fall in price.
Musk tweeted to his 98 million followers that he will “keep supporting Dogecoin”, and when a Twitter user encouraged Musk to keep buying the cryptocurrency, he replied: “I am.”
Following Musk’s public support, Dogecoin soared by more than 25% to $0.062. Musk also confirmed that Tesla still accepts DOGE payments for the company’s merchandise.
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Contrasting opinions
While several analysts, hedge funds and venture firms have openly written off cryptocurrencies, others such as Elon Musk and Canadian investor Kevin O’Leary, have backed them.
During a recent interview with Business Insider, Kevin O’Leary said that he is not selling any of his cryptocurrencies despite the market downturn.
O’Leary said: “I’m not selling anything. Long term you just have to stomach it. You have to understand you’ll get volatility, and that some projects aren’t going to work.”
O’Leary was an early backer of Canadian software firm Wonderfi, which just a few months ago announced the acquisition of crypto trading platform Coinberry for a reported $38.3m.
