World-famous celebrities are known to be considerable influencers on people’s opinions. The cryptocurrency market can be seen as a great opportunity to eliminate economic disparity in society, but it is also viewed as a hedge against inflation. Others simply want to cash in on the digital currency while it delivers decent returns on investment.
The debate on regulating cryptocurrency has gained momentum with the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies. There are measures being contemplated around the world to manage disruptions it may cause, while its market and user base are steadily expanding.
Thus, in the crypto industry, people tend to listen to what Elon Musk says. Who is this person? How do Musk’s tweets affect the market sentiment? Continue reading to discover!
Who is Elon Musk?
Musk is a South African-born American businessman and entrepreneur who founded X.com (now PayPal) in 1999, SpaceX in 2002, and Tesla Motors in 2003. After selling Zip2 to a division of Compaq Computers in his late 20s, Musk became a multimillionaire.
The first commercial vehicle to reach the International Space Station was launched by SpaceX in May 2012, with Musk behind the wheel. In 2016, he bolstered his portfolio with the purchase of SolarCity and firmly established himself as an industry leader by appointing himself as an advisor to President Donald Trump’s administration.
As of January 2021, Musk is reportedly the wealthiest man in the world, surpassing Jeff Bezos.
Companies Musk owns
Zip2 Corporation
In 1995, Musk founded Zip2 Corporation with his brother, Kimbal Musk. ZIP2, an online city guide, soon provided content for The New York Times website and The Chicago Tribune website. An arm of Compaq Computer Corporation purchased Zip2 for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock options in 1999.
PayPal
X.com is an online financial services/payments company that was founded in 1999 by Elon and Kimbal Musk using the money from their sale of Zip2. As a result of X.com’s acquisition the following year, PayPal was created.
When eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion in stock in October 2002, Musk earned his first billion. At the time of the purchase, Musk owned 11% of PayPal’s stock.
Tesla Motors
Musk founded Tesla Motors in 2003, a company devoted to manufacturing affordable, mass-market electric cars, batteries, and solar roofs. He serves as CEO and product architect. Elon is in charge of engineering, design, and product development for the company’s products.
SpaceX
The third company Musk founded, SpaceX, was intended to build spacecraft for commercial spaceflight. SpaceX had already gained a lot of traction by 2008, and NASA gave the company the contract to handle the transportation of cargo to and from the International Space Station, and in the future, astronaut transport as well, replacing NASA’s existing shuttle missions.
SolarCity
Musk announced the combining of his electric car and solar energy companies in August of 2016 in an effort to advance sustainable energy and products for a wider consumer base. Earlier this year, Tesla Motors Inc. announced its purchase of SolarCity Corp., a company Musk had helped his cousins launch in 2006. Both Tesla and SolarCity are majority-owned by Musk.
Together, solar power and energy storage can be most effective. The two companies will be able to create fully integrated residential, commercial and grid-scale products that will improve the way energy is generated, stored, and consumed, stated Elon at Tesla’s official website.
Musk and crypto
All the 11 years following the creation of Bitcoin, Elon Musk didn’t show any interest in it. One fine day in early February 2021, Tesla announced it had bought $1.5 billion worth of coins. After this, the cryptocurrency went through the roof, reaching historical highs shortly thereafter. Markets for virtual currencies are now calling this phenomenon the ‘Elon Musk effect’.
The relationship between Elon Musk and cryptocurrencies is love-hate. His flip-flops indicate that the relationship is ‘complicated’ in spite of the constant hints of his undying love for cryptos.
Dogecoin
On January 20, 2021, Musk tweeted out a picture of a magazine cover titled “Dogue” – a play on the popular fashion title “Vogue.” The tweet included a picture of a dog, which some Reddit users interpreted as Musk supporting the rally. The price of Dogecoin then jumped by 800%! 1 dogecoin to USD cost was $0.072330.
Floki Inu rise
The dogecoin spinoff Floki Inu coin increased 30% in value after a tweet from Elon Musk during the first week of October this year. The dog Musk owns is named Floki, a Shiba Inu, which is a Japanese breed.
It is not the first time when the tweet from Elon Musk upset crypto investors.
Musk stated he would get a Shiba Inu in March 2021. On June 25, he tweeted, “Floki will be the name of my Shiba Inu.” On September 12, he tweeted, “Floki has arrived.” A picture of his dog sleeping on his rug accompanied the tweet. These tweets caused Floki Inu’s stock price to rise by 1,000% by September 15.
In the three days following Elon Musk’s tweet, the currency increased by ten times.
Recent tweet pushing Shiba Inu price up
Elon Musk demonstrated the power of a single tweet once again on October 18.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared a text art illustration of the cute Japanese dog Shiba Inu/joke cryptocurrency with a space rocket – in the cryptocurrency lingo for “to the moon.”
When cryptocurrency values are skyrocketing, the exclamation is often used.
Musk’s post pushed the cryptocurrency in the proper direction, with a 21 percent increase following his involvement. The cost of Floki Inu has also risen significantly. “I’ve thought about and… I’m not sorry for party rocking,” Elon Musk responded with a tweet.
Shiba was initially joke crypto based on the Doge meme, initiated in 2020 by the mysterious “Ryoshi.”
Shiba first experienced a significant price increase in May of this year, reaching $0,000028, before plummeting.
Elon Musk’s tweet earlier this month was also credited with inflating the coin.
It happens as Bitcoin gets closer to its all-time high price. On Monday, October 18, it traded at approximately $62,000.
Bitcoin has had a bumpy year, with values tumbling in May when Elon Musk revealed that Tesla would no longer recognize Bitcoin as a form of payment.
