Elon Musk and Crypto: Love Story or Manipulation?

When discussing the cryptocurrency in this generation, it always appears that one name that will always come to our mind is Elon Musk. The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who is a billionaire, has contributed immensely to influencing the perception of people with regards to crypto, particularly Bitcoin and Dogecoin. People think that he is a huge proponent of crypto almost to the point of falling in love with it. Some believe that he is simply doing it through the influence in order to benefit himself in the market. The reality may lie between the two, but this is what we need to examine so that we can come to know.

The initial sign that Elon Musk entered the crypto world was when he has begun tweeting about Bitcoin and Dogecoin. His tweets were not regular posts. They moved the market. To illustrate, as early as in early 2021, when he updated his Twitter bio to include the hashtag Bitcoin, the Bitcoin price surged in several hours. Tesla even later on stated that it purchased $1.5 billion of Bitcoin and that it would accept it as a form of payment. That news in itself drove the cost of Bitcoin higher. To a great number of investors, it was as though Elon Musk had fallen in love with crypto.

The love affair was however short-lived. A couple of months later, Elon tweeted that Tesla stopped accepting Bitcoin due to the issues over the amount of energy used in the Bitcoin mining business. The value of Bitcoin plummeted thereafter. Being a witness of how crypto functions, I can mention that this moment demonstrated me how powerful the words of one man can be. It was something that made me begin to wonder: is that actually love of crypto, or is it manipulation?

Then came Dogecoin. Dogecoin is in contrast to Bitcoin, and it initially began as a joke, a meme coin that lacks seriousness. However, Elon Musk started tweeting about it all the time, referring to himself as the Dogefather and publishing memes that people loved to laugh at. Dogecoin was catapulted to the moon by those tweets, which were funny as they were. At some time, Dogecoin was even among the leading cryptocurrencies in the world, just because Elon Musk continued to mention it. People got money, yes, but many others also lost money as the hype was killed. That brought up another concern, was Elon going to help Dogecoin because he believed in it or was he only toying with the hearts of people?

Image Source

Others claim that Elon Musk is an imaginative person who desires to have a world whereby money is not dominated by governments and banks. They tell that his crypto support indicates his vision of a decentralized financial system. Provided that this is the case, his association with crypto may be regarded as a love story. He is a believer in the advances, and he wishes to take digital currency to mainstream.

Conversely, critics feel that Elon is aware of the power of his influence and occasionally he uses them to rattle the market. Whenever he tweets, there is a rise or fall of prices and millions of dollars are either made or lost. In my case when I follow crypto, there are moments when I think he is the director of a play, and we are only spectators as he moves the stage. This is the place where the term of manipulation is employed.

The other angle that we cannot overlook is the balance that Elon Musk has between his business and his crypto actions. To illustrate, the fact that Tesla purchased Bitcoin gave crypto credibility. However, the credibility declined when Tesla ceased taking it. There are even those who feel that he deals both ways- crypto when convenient and disposes of it when it is inconvenient. That is why, it is so difficult to tell whether this is the real love or it is something.

Being a Nigerian man who has witnessed the transformations that crypto has brought to the lives of the people around, I believe that the presence of Elon Musk can be taken as a blessing as well as a curse. He publicized crypto in a manner that no one could. A lot of young Nigerians, such as Dogecoin, became interested in the cryptocurrency just because Elon had mentioned it. Others got rich; others got at a loss. His voice is strong and great responsibility comes with it. His tweets have entered the crypto economy whether he likes it or not.

It is impossible to deny the fact that Elon Musk has made the world of crypto exciting. Until he, Bitcoin and Dogecoin were primarily discussed among crypto communities. However, the entire world began listening to him. He turned crypto into a household issue. This, somehow, has made digital currencies take a step in the mainstream direction.

But simultaneously there has been uncertainty due to the same influence. When a single man tweet has the ability to give a shake to a billion-dollar market, then perhaps the basis is not so sound as we would want it to be. Crypto is also expected to be decentralized and therefore it should not be controlled by an individual. However, the behavior of Elon Musk demonstrates that it can be up and down still by personality. That is where the danger lies.

To sum up, it seems that the case of Elon Musk and crypto cannot be defined easily. It even seems to be a love story at times, particularly when he talks about Dogecoin with passion or Tesla puts money into Bitcoin. Yet it appears to be manipulation also when prices fall following one of his tweets. In my case, I tend to believe that Elon Musk is a manipulator and lover of crypto space. He adores innovation, he loves shaking the table, and he is also aware of his voice strength, he is not afraid to use it. Love or manipulation, there is one thing that is definite, Elon Musk has made the crypto the face of the future.