Since the beginning of the year, the majority of cryptocurrencies have been plunging as traders react to geopolitical risks posed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the threat of financial tightening in the United States.
Bitcoin has dropped more than 15%, and other major cryptocurrencies have dropped even more, as bullish investors fear rising interest rates and a slowing of pandemic-era stimulus measures.
Elon Musk, the Tesla billionaire who shocked the crypto world last year by adding $1.5 billion in bitcoin to Tesla’s balance sheet, has now stated that he still owns and “won’t sell” his bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin, warning others not to keep dollars when inflation is high.
Elon Musk has become a household name among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has nearly 80 million Twitter followers and has been shaking up the crypto world with his witty tweets.
When inflation is strong, it is often better to hold real assets like a home or stock in companies you think manufacture good products, rather than dollars, Musk remarked through Twitter in a conversation with bitcoin bull Michael Saylor. “I still own and won’t sell my bitcoin, ethereum or doge,” He added.
As with Musk’s previous cryptocurrency tweets, the series of tweets failed to boost the bitcoin price. The price of dogecoin temporarily surged before falling again, resuming a downward trend in which it has lost more than 80% of its value after a Musk and influencer-fueled rise propelled it to over 70 cents per doge about a year ago.
Musk was responding to Saylor, the CEO of business intelligence software company MicroStrategy, who predicted that “consumer inflation will continue near all-time highs, and asset inflation will run at double the rate of consumer inflation” over the next few years, adding that “weaker currencies will collapse, and the flight of capital from cash, debt, annuities, and other assets will run at double the rate of consumer inflation.”
Musk has stated that he owns bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin, however it is unknown how much or when he purchased the cryptocurrencies.