Musk hints that Tesla may sell off its Bitcoin holdings, crypto markets suffer a setback

Bitcoin, which has been sluggish for several days, suffered another blow due to a comment from Musk, falling 10% and breaking through the $45,000 mark. Last week, Musk said he would continue to hold Bitcoin. However, the latest comment suggests that he may have changed his mind again.

For Bitcoin, Musk is both its success and failure. Bitcoin, which has been sluggish for several days, suffered another heavy blow due to Musk's comment, falling 10% and breaking through the $45,000 mark.

In the early hours of Monday morning local time, a netizen named “cryptowhale” said on social media: “Next quarter, when Bitcoin investors find out that Tesla has sold off their remaining holdings, they will slap themselves. @elonmusk has received so much hatred, I won’t blame him…”

Under this tweet, Musk commented: "Indeed."

Musk's comments were interpreted by the market as a hint that Tesla had or would sell its remaining Bitcoin holdings, causing the price of Bitcoin to plummet, falling below $45,000 at one point, more than $5,000 from its intraday high. As of press time, Bitcoin rebounded slightly to $45,881.

Since the beginning of this year, Musk's endorsement has added fuel to the upward momentum of digital currencies, pushing up the prices of digital currencies including Bitcoin on many occasions.

In February this year, Tesla revealed that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin to "diversify and maximize" its investment. Since Tesla purchased it, the price of Bitcoin has risen from $36,000 to a high of $64,000. This investment has made Tesla a net profit of $100 million in the first quarter.

Musk later said that Tesla accepts Bitcoin payments, and that Bitcoin paid to Tesla will remain as Bitcoin and will not be converted into legal tender. However, in recent weeks, the "leader" who has been in charge of the cryptocurrency circle seems to have changed his position and turned into the biggest "traitor".

Last week, Tesla announced that it would suspend accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment for car purchases. Bitcoin plummeted, retreating more than $10,000 from its highs, and the entire cryptocurrency market lost 365 billion yuan in market value. Subsequently, Musk continued to question Bitcoin's energy consumption, saying, "I still believe in cryptocurrency, but it cannot justify the extensive use of fossil fuels, especially coal."

At the time, Musk said he would continue to hold Bitcoin. However, the latest comment suggests that he may have changed his mind again, and this erratic stance has also caused great dissatisfaction in the cryptocurrency circle.

Dogecoin co-founder Jackson Palmer tweeted on May 13 that Musk has always been a selfish liar and will always be so. However, he quickly deleted the tweet.

Fred Wilson, founding partner of venture capital firm Union Square Ventures, tweeted on Friday that Musk was playing games and "it's hard to take people who do this seriously. As a result, I have lost a lot of respect for him over the past year."