Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. Patrick Pleul/Pool via Reuters
Elon Musk Tuesday said that the US government should "do absolutely nothing" regarding regulation of cryptocurrency.
He said, "I don’t believe it’s like the second Coming of the Messiah," he added.
He said that China has banned crypto as it doesn't like their goal of reducing centralization power.
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Elon Musk stated that he believes the US authorities should not regulate cryptocurrency, because they could hinder growth.
He said, "It's not possible to destroy crypto but it is possible for governments slow down its progress," in an interview at Tuesday's Code Conference in Los Angeles.
Kara Swisher, a New York Times columnist, asked Musk about the US government's role in regulating the industry.
He said, "I would say, don't do anything," and added, "Just let it fly."
Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler has advocated for more oversight of the "Wild West” market for digital assets. He stated that crypto exchanges could lose public trust if they are not regulated.
Some crypto industry leaders, however, believe that tighter scrutiny will benefit investors by providing more transparency and protection. Coinbase will present a regulatory framework to authorities. Mark Cuban, a billionaire investor in crypto, has admitted that crypto regulation built around existing laws on fraud is not a bad thing.
Musk, who founded PayPal payment service provider in 1999, said to Swisher that cryptocurrencies would reduce "errors and latency" within the financial system. He was realistic in his expectations of the positive impact they would make.
He said, "I wouldn’t say that I’m some huge cryptocurrency expert." "There is some value in cryptocurrency. It's not like the second coming or the Messiah as some people believe."
Tesla CEO spoke out about China's declaration of crypto-related transactions illegal, and its crackdown against crypto mining. He said that the Communist Party was concerned about digital assets and the recent ban.
He said, "It would seem that they don’t love cryptocurrency." "I think cryptocurrency is fundamentally designed to reduce the power of a central government. They don't like this," he said. This is my guess.
Musk suggested that the Chinese energy crisis could have been a factor in the government's decision to impose tougher measures.
He said that he believed part of the problem could be caused by electricity shortages in China's many regions. "A lot in South China are experiencing random power outages right now, because the demand for power is higher than anticipated."
In February, the Tesla CEO revealed that Tesla had placed a $1.5 million bet on Bitcoin and would accept bitcoin payments for cars. Three months later, Tesla reversed its decision and stopped accepting Bitcoin payments. This was due to its environmental-intensive effects on the environment.
The Musk effect, which saw token prices go up or down with almost every tweet related to Tesla boss's tweets earlier this year. Swisher asked him if he believes that his tweets have an impact on crypto prices.
Musk stated, "If it goes down, I suppose it's."
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