Tesla’s Elon Musk: Bitcoin Won’t Replace Money But It Has A Role

One of the most successful and popular entrepreneurs, Elon Musk, recently spoke about Bitcoin and the general idea of cryptocurrencies. Appearing on a podcast, he said that digital assets will not replace cash fully, but they have a role to play.

Bitcoin Won’t Replace Money: Musk

Elon Musk is widely known for his business endeavors as the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Previously, he was the founder of PayPal, one of the most used online payment service companies.

Recently appearing in a podcast, he was asked about the world’s largest cryptocurrency – Bitcoin. He initially said that “I’m neither here or there on Bitcoin,” but when he first read the whitepaper, he thought it was very clever.

Musk also answered the question of whether or not he sees Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as replacements for cash. He noted that they have a role “but not as a replacement for a primary – I do not see crypto being the primary database.”

It’s also worth noting a recent mysterious tweet from the billionaire. A few weeks ago, Musk said in front of his over 30 million followers that “Bitcoin is *not* my safe word.”

Another remarkably influential person, Ray Dalio, also talked about the largest cryptocurrency at Davos. He indicated that Bitcoin fails the purposes of money because of its high volatility.

Musk On Cash And Crypto

Musk elaborated his views on cryptocurrencies as a whole and their alleged involvement in illegal activities.

“This sort of gets the crypto people angry, but there are transactions that are not within the balance of the law. And there are, obviously, many laws in different countries. And, normally, cash is used for these transactions. But, in order for illegal transactions to occur, cash must also be used for legal transactions. You need an illegal to legal bridge. That’s where crypto comes in.”

Additionally, he pointed out that he is not judging cryptocurrencies, as sometimes governments place too many transactions as illegal:

“This is sometimes taken as being like I’m being judgmental about crypto, but it’s actually – there’re a lot of things that are illegal that shouldn’t be illegal. I think sometimes governments have too many laws. They shouldn’t have so many things that are illegal.”

However, he also noted that there’s less usage for cash as its role is ultimately reduced. He said that “it’s increasingly difficult to use cash, some places, you can’t even use cash at all.”

Featured image courtesy of CNBC