Musk Backs Crypto Over Fiat as Market Decline Continues

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Elon Musk has endorsed cryptocurrencies over fiat currencies despite the continued market sell-off

The billionaire has come under heavy criticism recently. Musk had previously stated that Tesla would no longer be accepting BTC as a form of payment. The change in stance was attributed to environmental concerns when mining bitcoin. 

China crackdown hurting bitcoin

Following the announcement by Tesla, bitcoin began to see a sell-off in price. The price of bitcoin has continued to decline following China’s recent moves to crack down on BTC mining within the country. Citing similar concerns related to carbon emissions, as well as protecting the country’s financial system. 

The country has also announced it will be prohibiting financial institutions from participating in crypto services. 

While bitcoin and the entire crypto market has seen one of its worst weeks this year, twitter users reached out to Musk for comment regarding his opinions on how he felt regarding crypto users being angry at him due to his removal of bitcoin payments. 

Musk still backs crypto

Musk commented on the question, saying “The true battle is between fiat & crypto. On balance, I support the latter.”

Musk has also previously stated that has not sold any of his DogeCoin (DOGE) holdings, saying “I haven’t & won’t sell any Doge.”

Bitcoin takes a beating

Musk backing crypto however has little effect on the market this time around. Bitcoin slumped by 14% over the weekend as the market sell-off continued. Bitcoin dropped to $33,800 on Sunday. Making it the fourteenth consecutive day bitcoin has dropped in price. 

Bitcoins negative price action has dramatically affected the rest of the market. As altcoins also took a beating. The total market cap had declined to $1.3 trillion, down from the high of $2.5 trillion two weeks ago.