Elon Musk says Tesla won’t accept Bitcoin- here’s what crypto experts have to say

• Follow

The price of bitcoin fell below $50,000 on Thursday after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the electric car maker would stop accepting the digital currency as payment for its vehicles citing environmental concerns associated with Bitcoin mining.  Indian crypto experts have reacted to the move saying it is surprising but they hope it will make Bitcoin mining more sustainable. Bitcoin is currently trading at $50,820.

“Elon’s latest message regarding sustainability concerns on Bitcoin is surprising. As a representative of Tesla, which bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin three months back, we expect him to be aware of such concerns previously. This can mean either of the two things. One, that he wants to be an advocate of change in the crypto industry or two, he or Tesla is forced into taking this position as a company focused on renewable energy,” said Vikram Subburaj Co-founder and CEO of Giottus Cryptocurrency Exchange

Subburaj added, “This is a warning for all crypto investors to not move the market basis an influencer. Elon Musk’s support has marketed the industry well in recent months though we now see that it can also backfire. Investors can research and invest in projects that are solving real-world issues via blockchain. Overall, we believe that demand for cryptocurrencies continues to be strong and will grow further taking the markets to newer highs post this temporary setback.”

Bitcoin is mined with the help of a complex algorithm that runs on supercomputers. The Blockchain and Crypto Council, a subcommittee under the Internet Mobile Association of India, recently in one of its reports stated that the mining industry has been migrating towards clean energy. The report stated that crypto mining uses 40% renewable energy compared while Internet data centres use 20% renewable energy.

India had also reportedly banned the import of a specific component of cryptocurrency mining equipment called ‘application-specification integrated circuits’ or ASIC. This is probably why cryptocurrency trading is far more popular in India than cryptocurrency mining.

Experts also say that Bitcoin was due for a correction for a long time due to a sharp jump in prices. “Bitcoin had a good rally and was due for a correction. Markets will often wait for an excuse–even a tweet–to reverse a trend. However, Bitcoin still has the same underlying strength as perhaps the best store of value. For many investors, this is a buying opportunity at bargain prices,” said Vikram Rangala, COO at ZebPay.