Crypto boost may be focus for Elon Musk as he acquires Twitter
Bloomberg Market Specialists Daniel Davies and Clay Eltzroth contributed to this article. The original version appeared first on the Bloomberg Terminal.
Background
Elon Musk has a history of moving markets for digital assets — and for using Twitter to make his opinions known.
So far in 2022, his tweets include that he recommends crypto instead of dollars when inflation is high, would eat a Happy Meal on TV if McDonald’s Corp. accepted Dogecoin, wants to wipe out spambots and accepts crypto for Tesla merchandise.
Musk allowed Tesla customers to buy electric cars with Bitcoin last year, helping send the crypto market soaring to record highs. Tesla later suspended the program because of environmental concerns over Bitcoin mining.
When news broke in April about Musk’s agreement to buy Twitter for $44 billion, cryptocurrency leaders began urging him to implement “decentralized principles” on the social media platform.
The issue
Elon Musk uses Twitter to share his opinions on improving cryptocurrencies, and he has received plenty of suggestions from crypto influencers on how to change the social media platform for their possible mutual benefit.
Musk’s tweets on April 25 revealed some of his thoughts about Twitter — the need for new features, open-source algorithms and authenticated humans, as well as an end to spambots.
As for crypto influencers? Bitfinex was bullish on Musk buying Twitter, or felt the endeavor was at least potentially entertaining. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong celebrated the potential acquisition.
CoinDesk, Zerohedge, DealBook and whitehatNFT also mentioned what Musk’s acquisition of Twitter might do for crypto. The social media platform currently accepts Bitcoin for tips and authenticates non-fungible tokens.
There is always price action when Musk and Bitcoin are mentioned together in social media posts. However, a rally in Dogecoin and other crypto faded quickly after Musk showed his Twitter interest.
Other recent events have been favorable for cryptocurrency acceptance. Bitcoin was declared a legal currency in the Central African Republic, and Finland selected two brokers to sell seized Bitcoin.
Tracking
To see what the crypto world has been tweeting about Musk:
- Run SOCI <GO> again.
- Click Markets in the left-hand menu and tick Cryptocurrencies for a curated list of influential crypto handles.
- Type “musk” in the amber box and select Elon Reeve Musk in the People section.
- Set In Addition To to Within at the bottom left.
For more information on this or other functionality on the Bloomberg Professional Service, click here to request a demo with a Bloomberg sales representative. Existing clients can press <HELP HELP> on their Bloomberg keyboard.