Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk recently remarked that the US government should not regulate the crypto market and just let cryptocurrencies ‘fly’.
Musk’s remarks came at the Vox Media’s Code Conference held in Beverly Hills, California on Tuesday. In response to New York Times columnist Kara Swisher’s question on whether the US government should regulate cryptocurrencies, Musk commented:
“It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto, but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement.”
“I would say, do nothing. Just let it fly,” Musk added.
Tesla Motor announced in February this year that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC), a move that was well-received within the crypto community.
However, in May, Musk announced that Tesla would stop accepting payments in Bitcoin citing its environmental impact due to energy-intensive mining. Elon Musk’s tweets on cryptocurrencies have had a significant impact on the market, sending their price tumbling or soaring according to the nature of his tweet.
Currently, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Ministry of Finance, and some lawmakers are increasingly discussing the importance of regulating the crypto industry in the United States.
Mr. Musk also commented on China’s policy of putting a total ban on cryptocurrencies announced last week. He remarked that the ban was likely due to the country’s “significant electricity generation issues.”
“Part of it may actually 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.”
However, he also pointed out the inherent characteristics of cryptocurrencies might not be well-perceived by the Chinese government. He said:
“It would appear that they don’t love cryptocurrency. I suppose cryptocurrency is fundamentally aimed at reducing the power of a centralized government, and they don’t like that. That’s my guess.”
