Elon Musk Takes Crypto's Side In 'Battle' With Fiat Money

Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk has suggested that he sides with cryptocurrencies in their war on fiat currencies such as the United States dollar.

What Happened: Elon Musk said this in response to a Twitter user who asked what he thinks about people who are angry at him over his cryptocurrency shenanigans.

"The true battle is between fiat & crypto. On balance, I support the latter," Musk said.

Related story: Elon Musk And His Rise As A 'FinTwit' Influencer

Musk's message refers to the original reason why Bitcoin BTC/USD and by extension all cryptocurrencies were created in the first place — which was clearly defined by the coin's pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin's white paper was released in 2008 in response to the economic crisis brought on by the subprime mortgage fiasco.

The true battle is between fiat & crypto. On balance, I support the latter.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 22, 2021

The network launched in 2009 with the following line hardcoded in the blockchain forever: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks." This was meant as proof that the network was launched on or after January 3, 2009, and as a reminder of the instability caused by fractional-reserve banking. Nakamoto may also have been suggesting that banks should not have received a bailout at others' expense.

Learn more: How Does Bitcoin Work?

Why It Matters: Musk's comments have influenced the price of Bitcoin before. He first caused the coin's value to surge when he announced that Tesla would accept it as means of payment for cars in March, and in February when the company invested $1.5 billion in it.

Then he supposedly was the reason for a crash this month when he announced that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin  because of the "rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels" in Bitcoin mining and transactions. Musk pushed the price further down by suggesting the firm may dump its holdings of Bitcoin. 

Photo by JD Lasica via Wikimedia.