Elon Muskโ€™s Crypto History: The Good, the Bad, and Putting Dogecoin on the Moon

Is Elon Musk a force of progress or carnage in the crypto industry?

Elon Musk with a cowboy hat standing in the desert in front of doge on the moon.

Elon Muskโ€™s crypto influence cannot be overstated. Formerly the worldโ€™s richest man, Muskโ€™s tweets habitually make waves throughout the cryptocurrency market. His whimsical musings have caused spectacular pumps and dumps in everything from meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) up to Bitcoin (BTC) itself.

Some internet sleuths speculate that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO might even be moonlighting as Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s mysterious founder. This would add yet another layer to Elonโ€™s impressive resume, which includes co-chairing at OpenAI, the company responsible for ChatGPT.

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Despite being worshipped as something less than a deity within the blockchain industry, the eccentric billionaire has shown mixed views toward digital currency.

Is Elon Musk a force of growth or destruction in the crypto market?

Is Elon Musk Satoshi Nakamoto?

According to a SpaceX intern, Satoshi Nakamoto is none other than Elon Musk. After analyzing a slew of coincidental similarities between Musk and Nakamotoโ€™s behavior, Sahil Gupta claims to have uncovered one of the big secrets of the 21st century.

Similar word choices, like โ€˜order of magnitudeโ€™ and โ€˜bloody,โ€™ alongside proficiency in the C++ programming language and frequent use of a โ€™double-space after a periodโ€™ have convinced Gupta that Musk and Nakamoto are the same person.

Elon musk denies being satoshi
Source: Twitter

Gupta admits that there is no hard evidence to support his claim. To further extinguish the fire, Elon Musk has flatly denied any involvement in the creation of Bitcoin.

Elon Musk and the Cryptocurrency Industry

While heโ€™s (probably) not Satoshi Nakamoto, Elon Musk has always kept himself up to date on cryptocurrency and the growth of the blockchain industry. Amongst hundreds of digital assets in the crypto market, none have attracted Muskโ€™s attention more than Bitcoin and the worldโ€™s favorite meme coin, DOGE.

Elon Musk and Bitcoin (BTC)

Elon Musk publicly mentioned Bitcoin in 2014 at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit. When asked for his opinion on the digital currency, Musk said that Bitcoin was โ€œprobably a good thingโ€ but that BTC would be โ€œprimarily a means of doing illegal transactions.โ€

Five years passed, and the crypto market continued to explode and crash with volatility that made traditional investors sweat. News outlets pronounced that โ€˜Bitcoin is Deadโ€™ with impunity, comparing it to Tulip mania and pyramid schemes. 

In 2019, Elon came out in support of Bitcoin, saying that the cryptocurrencyโ€™s structure was โ€˜quite brilliantโ€™ on a podcast hosted by Ark Invest. The Tesla co-founder also mentioned Ethereum (ETH) had โ€œsome merit,โ€ although he confirmed that Tesla wouldnโ€™t be committing any resources to the crypto space.

Elon musk adds #bitcoin to his twitter bio

This all changed in early 2021 when Elon Musk changed his Twitter bio to include one simple word: #Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency surged by over 20% in response, raising questions about Muskโ€™s ability to manipulate the crypto market.

His work wasnโ€™t finished. Just a few weeks later, Tesla announced that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and planned to accept BTC as payment in exchange for Tesla products. BTC exploded further, continuing itโ€™s meteoric Elon-fuelled run.

Unfortunately for Bitcoin bulls, it couldnโ€™t last forever. Concerns over Bitcoinโ€™s energy consumption drove Musk to announce that Tesla would no longer accept BTC payments. The news broke on May 12th, 2021, causing the price of BTC to plummet roughly 40% in a few short weeks.

Elon Musk and Dogecoin (DOGE)

While Elon Muskโ€™s relationship with Bitcoin has always been rocky, his devotion to Dogecoin has never been in doubt. Elon believes that DOGE is โ€˜the peopleโ€™s coin.โ€™ He came to this conclusion after speaking with production line workers at Tesla and SpaceX who owned DOGE.

Elon musk explains why DOGE is the peopls crypto
Source: Twitter

Musk first tweeted about the original meme coin in 2019, saying that DOGE was his favorite cryptocurrency. Even in the depths of the crypto winter, DOGE almost doubled in value within three days.

Elon musk holds DOGE like the Lion King
Source: Twitter
Elon posts 'doge is inevitable' meme
Source: Twitter

Elon has continued championing Dogecoin for years, posting a litany of memes using the iconic Shiba Inuโ€™s face. In 2021, Musk admitted that he had collaborated with the developers since 2019 to improve the network. Every time Elon mentions DOGE, the digital asset enjoys a significant pump. However, the effect has diminished over time.

The one shadow that Musk has cast over DOGE came in February 2021. DOGE’s price fell by as much as 20% after Elon expressed concern that the supply was over-concentrated, with 62% of all tokens controlled by the top 50 wallets.

Elon musk tweet promising to put a literal dogecoin on the literal moon
Source: Twitter

Perhaps the most euphoric moment in the history of the Musk-Dogecoin relationship sent DOGE into the stratosphere. On April 1st, 2021, Elon Musk tweeted that SpaceX would put a literal Dogecoin on the moon. Over the following month, DOGE exploded from $0.06 to its all-time high of $0.73. 

DOGE price chart after Elon Musk said he'd put doge on the moon
Source: CoinMarketCap

Today, DOGE is an accepted method of payment for Official Tesla merchandise. 

Elon Musk and Ethereum (ETH)

While Elon Musk has been vocal in his support of Bitcoin and Dogecoin, heโ€™s been comparatively restrained when discussing Ethereum. Elon has confirmed that he holds Ether and has no intention of selling. 

Despite being a fan of Ethereum, Musk has no interest in NFTs.

Elon Muskโ€™s Twitter Takeover

In April 2022, crypto Twitter users rejoiced to learn that Elon Musk planned to acquire the Social Media platform. Musk proposed radical changes for the network, including promoting free speech and making all Twitterโ€™s algorithms open-source. The acquisition cost of the platform totaled $44B and was completed in October 2022.

Itโ€™s long been speculated that Elon Musk might somehow find a way to incorporate cryptocurrency into the platform. This seemed to be confirmed on the 4th of April 2023, when the social media networkโ€™s iconic blue bird logo was replaced with DOGE.

DOGE takes over twitter meme
Source: Twitter

The DOGE price surged after the update, jumping over 10% in a few hours. The price retraced back to previous levels after the logo was replaced by the original Twitter logo a few days later.

On the Flipside

  • Elonโ€™s ability to move the entire crypto market with a handful of tweets arguably shows a lack of maturity within the cryptocurrency industry. Even Bitcoin, a digital asset worth over $500B in terms of market cap, can be easily manipulated by the whims of one man, making it unreliable as a currency of exchange.
  • Due to his presence in the cryptocurrency industry and immense wealth, hackers and scams will often impersonate Elon Musk. If you ever receive messages from someone claiming to be Elon, donโ€™t give them any personal information like your seed phrase.

Why You Should Care

Elon Musk has an enormous influence on the crypto market and the trading habits of its participants. His behavior is proven to cause spikes and drops in crypto prices, leading many to question whether Elon is deliberately manipulating the market.

FAQs

What three cryptocurrencies does Elon Musk own?

According to a tweet Elon Musk published in March 2022, he owns Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin and has no intention to sell.

Does Elon Musk own Shiba Inu coins?

Elon Musk has confirmed that he doesnโ€™t own any Shiba Inu (SHIB) coins. According to Musk, his only cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.

Is there an ELON coin?

There is no official ELON coin that has any involvement with Elon Musk. While you might find plenty of coins called ELON on a decentralized exchange, these are generally nothing more than meme coins and scams.

What is Elon Muskโ€™s favorite cryptocurrency?

According to Elon Musk, his favorite cryptocurrency is Dogecoin, the peopleโ€™s crypto.

This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

Author
Finn Miller

Finn Miller is a New Zealand-based blockchain writer for DailyCoin who specializes in simplifying complex blockchain topics. He is experienced in crafting whitepapers, researching on-chain data, and advising emerging crypto projects, and uses his unconventional approach to learning and passion for knowledge to provide cornerstone educational content for readers of all levels. When not exploring the depths of DeFi, Finn can be found exploring his other passion, the great outdoors.

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