Photo: @PivotPod/Twitter
In an extensive interview at the 2021 Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared his views on how governments are trying to regulate cryptocurrency. He believes that governments should stay away from industry regulation, as this slows down cryptocurrency development.
Interviewer Kara Swisher started the conversation with the topic of cryptocurrency, as it is a fast-growing industry, and Musk has repeatedly spoken about them. He sometimes tweets about cryptocurrencies, expressing opinions about what he likes about them and points out what he thinks is wrong. Swisher asked Musk's opinion on the crackdown on cryptocurrency in different countries and what his views are.
When asked by the New York Times journalist about whether the U.S. government should be involved in regulating the crypto sphere, Musk said no. He clarified that cryptocurrency won’t be destroyed, but governmental intervention can slow its advance.
“It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto, but governments can slow down its advancement. I would say, ‘Do nothing’.”
Musk said that, in his opinion, cryptocurrency has value. This is especially true when it comes to reducing “error and latency” in legacy money systems. However, he admitted that he is not a cryptocurrency expert.
Answering questions from the host, Musk also commented on the suppression of cryptocurrencies in China. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) recently reminded again that all cryptocurrency-related activities are illegal. The head of Tesla suggested that this attitude towards cryptocurrency may be partly due to the lack of electricity in the country, and therefore China’s government places blame on the companies involved in mining cryptocurrencies.
“Part of it may be due to electricity shortages in many parts of China… A lot of South China right now is having random power outages, because the power demand is higher than expected… Crypto mining might be playing a role in that. I suppose cryptocurrency is fundamentally aimed at reducing the power of a centralized government... They don’t like that.”
Musk also said that cryptocurrency does not provide all the answers to all the ills of society. "I think there’s some value in cryptocurrency, but I wouldn’t say it’s the second coming of the Messiah."
© 2021, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
