Bitcoin's Decentralized Strength: Musk's Vision in Practice
Elon Musk's 2021 speech at The B Word conference is gaining attention again. In it, he argued that Bitcoin's main advantage over traditional payment systems is its lack of a 'throat to choke.' By this, he meant that no single entity can be forced to empty the system or hand over funds.
Musk defined money as an information system for allocating labor and highlighted the flaws in current payment systems. He noted that bank settlements take one to five business days, the ACH network is 'ancient and insecure,' and paying by card requires handing a stranger your password.
He contrasted this with Bitcoin's decentralized nature, which makes it impossible for someone to be coerced into emptying their account. Musk acknowledged that Bitcoin has its own issues, including low transaction volume, high costs, and poor usability, but he saw potential in the technology.
The speech was made before Tesla stopped accepting bitcoin for car purchases due to environmental concerns. However, it's worth noting that Tesla did eventually invest $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in early 2021, which it later converted into cash. The company holds 11,509 BTC worth around $386 million.
SpaceX, on the other hand, has held onto its bitcoin investments, listing 18,712 BTC at a cost of $661 million in every filing since 2024. This represents a value of around $2.37 billion at current prices.