No one knows precisely what moves crypto prices, but Musk certainly seems to be playing a role — and by extension may be endangering the decentralized ideals of the market. Not long after he announced in February that Tesla would invest $1.5 billion in bitcoin, the price of one bitcoin hit a high, crossing $50,000 for the first time. Then, this month, Musk changed tack: Citing the environmental cost of bitcoin mining’s use of computing power, he announced that Tesla would no longer accept payment in the currency. Bitcoin’s price crashed soon after. This week, he may have helped push bitcoin’s price up by tweeting about mining’s “promising” renewables usage, while sparking accusations of centralization for spearheading a new Bitcoin Mining Council.
