Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey discussed Bitcoin during a live session of the ₿ Word Conference Wednesday.
“Bitcoin As A Tool For Economic Empowerment” is one of six sessions being held throughout Wednesday to enable “a more informed discussion about the role Bitcoin can serve for institutions across the globe.”
Musk said he hopes cryptocurrency will pave the way for a monetary system with “less error.”
“My hope for crypto, in general, is that it can improve the efficiency of the information system that we call money,” Musk said. “This will naturally lead to a better standard of living and more power to the individual.”
The future of cryptocurrency is on edge.
Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey on Live Stream.
The 11 a.m. (PDT) session in which Musk and Dorsey are featured, both known to have contrasting views on the cryptocurrency, advertises “nothing is off limits.”
Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest will also participate in the discussion. Steve Lee, the lead for Square Crypto, will act as moderator.
A link to the session is available on The ₿ Word website.
Ethereum (ether) has shot up after Elon Musk revealed that he personally invested in the cryptocurrency.
The ₿ Word dubs itself as a “Bitcoin focused initiative that aims to demystify and destigmatize mainstream narratives about Bitcoin, explain how institutions can embrace it, and raise awareness around areas of the network that need support.” It is associated with the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) industry group (whose members include Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Square), Ark Invest, venture fund Paradigm (which convenes CCI), and Square.
The event comes amid a rough patch for the cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin. On Tuesday morning, the market lost around $90 billion over a 24 hour period. On Wednesday, Bitcoin was worth $31,443.28, down from an all-time high of $63,109 in April, according to CoinMarketCap.
The technology billionaire was speaking at The ₿ Word conference on Wednesday, alongside Twitter CEO and prominent crypto advocate Jack Dorsey, with his comments pushing the bitcoin rival above $2,000.
“Bitcoin does some things well, and it’s evolving. Usability for the average person is not great, but it has a lot of potentials,” he said. “On balance, I support bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general.”
Wood said she is excited about the network effect of digital currency as well as the technology opportunities it presents from a blockchain and artificial intelligence perspective, which she said could “change the world in ways that we cannot imagine right now, solving even more problems and creating more opportunities, as well.”
Dorsey said he is hopeful cryptocurrency could create world peace.
“The amount of cost and distraction that comes from our monetary system today is real, and it takes attention away from the bigger problems,” Dorsey said.
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“It may sound a bit ridiculous, but you fix that foundational level, and everything above it improves in such a dramatic way,” Dorsey added. “It’s going to be long-term, but my hope is definitely peace.”
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Earlier this year, the Tesla boss made headlines after announcing that his company would accept bitcoin as a form of payment for electric cars; however, he subsequently backtracked after citing environmental concerns about bitcoin’s network.
The cryptocurrency has since shifted more towards renewable energy sources following a major crackdown in China on bitcoin mining operations, which coal-fuelled power plants largely powered.
Tesla also announced a $1.5 billion investment into bitcoin in February, making it the world’s second-largest corporate investor behind the software firm MicroStrategy.
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A small portion of this was subsequently sold off but the majority continues to be held by Tesla despite the recent price slide.
After reaching an all-time high above $64,000 in mid-April, bitcoin’s price has fallen to around half its peak value and is currently trading at just above $32,000.
The Bottom Line
The discussion follows a Twitter exchange between Musk and Dorsey in late June, prompted by the Twitter CEO tweeting about The ₿ Word Conference. He wrote: “The #bitcoin development community above all else.
“As more companies and institutions get into the mix, we all want to help protect and spread what makes #bitcoin open development so perfect.
“This day is focused on education and actions to do just that.”
After Musk replied, “Bicurious?” Dorsey hit back “Bizarre!” and invited him to have a conversation with him at the event.
Big Event
Even though the topic of the discussion was Bitcoin, Dorsey did talk a bit about Twitter. Musk asked whether the social media platform would allow companies to buy ads using Bitcoin.
The Twitter CEO said the company should be able to, although he’s more focused on creating financial incentives for the platform without relying on ads.
Dorsey also brought up that he’s continuing work on Bluesky, a decentralized social media project that he said is still in its very early stages.
“You can share all your curiosities…” wrote Dorsey, later tweeting, “Let’s talk.”
Musk also said his other company, SpaceX, owned Bitcoin. Earlier in the year, Tesla invested in Bitcoin before the company began accepting the cryptocurrency as payment. Then in May, Musk changed his mind about accepting such payments due to the mass amount of power needed for Bitcoin mining.
As for Dogecoin, Musk explained that he viewed the altcoin as entertaining and ironic, as it was made as a joke, but that it could be the leading cryptocurrency.
“The Doge community is irreverent and has great meme, love dogs, and I love dogs and memes,” Musk said.
