Tesla has suspended the use of Bitcoin payments. What do industry insiders think?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted this morning that Tesla has suspended the use of Bitcoin payments and is considering using cryptocurrencies with lower energy consumption.

According to the pictures released by Musk, Tesla has stopped using Bitcoin to pay for car purchases, considering the sharp consumption of fossil fuels such as coal caused by Bitcoin mining and trading. Cryptocurrency is a good idea in many aspects, and Tesla is optimistic about its future, but these cannot be at the expense of the environment. Finally, Tesla said it will not sell any Bitcoin, and after the mining industry transitions to using sustainable energy, Tesla intends to use Bitcoin for transactions as soon as possible. Tesla is also considering seeking other cryptocurrencies that consume much less energy than Bitcoin.

What do industry insiders think?

In addition to the crypto market's sharp drop this morning, Tesla's decision has sparked discussions among industry insiders.

There are many sarcastic remarks. For example, Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano tweeted that he can't wait to see Tesla stop accepting US dollar payments because it will have a negative impact on the environment.

Of course, some people also took the opportunity to promote their own projects and tokens. Block.one CEO Brendan Blumer (BB) retweeted Musk’s tweet and added the EOS tag, suggesting that EOS should be used for payment.

BB later added, “We already mine BTC at scale, using only green energy to compete, and have developed high-performance software that does not rely on excessive computing. EOSIO is used by major financial institutions and auditing firms. Come check it out! #EOS”

However, more people are paying attention to the issues in the green mining and renewable energy industries and hope to discuss feasible solutions.

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said, “Renewable energy plays an increasingly important role in the future of cryptocurrency (and mining), which is a huge opportunity. If you are willing, I would love to bring together some of the smartest people in the crypto space so that we can brainstorm and identify measurable solutions.”

Chia founder Bram Cohen said, “If you (Tesla) are concerned about environmental impact, you should sell all your bitcoins, which will increase the supply, thereby reducing prices, mining rewards and energy consumption.”

Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini and Bitcoin billionaire, does not agree with Musk and Tesla's views on Bitcoin mining. He believes that Bitcoin mining is actually driving the renewable energy industry forward. "When Elon (Musk) realizes that Bitcoin mining is actually driving the renewable energy industry forward, he will reposition and Bitcoin will soar."

In contrast, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz was more optimistic. Novogratz said, "My view on Musk is to believe what he says. He cares about the environment, and he is using his considerable influence to push Bitcoin mining towards a greener future. Many companies in the field are already working on this. Stay tuned and buy BTC."

Regarding the impact of Tesla's news on the crypto market, OKEx CEO Jay Hao said on Weibo that institutions and opinion leaders are not absolute weathervanes. Their statements can only represent themselves and their institutions. "Smart" investors need to consider many aspects and know how to find a balance between panic and greed. In addition, the value of cryptocurrencies is not measured by the words of others. Time will verify the value of any cryptocurrency. Valuable cryptocurrencies will become more and more brilliant in development, and worthless cryptocurrencies will automatically disappear from our sight as time goes by.

Makoto Sakuma, deputy chief researcher at Nissho Research Institute, believes that the problem of high energy consumption of Bitcoin miners has long been known, so this is nothing new. But combined with Musk's recent remarks on Dogecoin, his latest remarks seem to indicate that his enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies may be waning. I don't think all the earlier market sell-offs were caused by this news, but it increases the risk of selling and is the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

In fact, just two days ago (May 11), Musk launched a vote on Twitter on "Do you want Tesla to accept Doge payment?" The vote has ended. Among the 3,922,516 people who participated in the vote, 78.2% (more than 3 million people) expressed support and 21.8% expressed opposition.

Although it is unclear which cryptocurrency Tesla will choose to accept as payment in the future, Musk's enthusiasm for cryptocurrency does not seem to be fading so quickly.