Bitcoin 2024 came and went without a surprise appearance from Elon Musk, which some anticipated as the conference grew closer. However, that didn't stop the Tesla CEO from dishing on cryptocurrency this weekend.
Musk joined the X Takeover podcast on Sunday, hosted by the Tesla Owners Silicon Valley. During the hourlong talk on technology, space exploration and sustainability, Musk was asked for his latest thoughts about Bitcoin.
“I'm not going to be promoting crypto — at most, in a joking way. If you see me pumping crypto, it's not me,” Musk said. “I do think there's some merit in Bitcoin, and maybe some other cryptos, and I've sort of got a soft spot for Dogecoin because I like dogs and memes.”
In May, Musk rebutted reports that he “discussed crypto” with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“Pretty sure I've never discussed crypto with Trump, although I am generally in favor of things that shift power from government to the people, which crypto can do,” Musk wrote in a post on X at the time.
Trump was the keynote speaker Saturday at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee. He said if elected in November, he promised to fire SEC chair Gary Gensler, stop the United States from selling its bitcoin holdings and create a “strategic bitcoin reserve.”
Musk is one of the world's richest people and helped Dogecoin hit all-time highs in the summer of 2021 with his frequent tweets and endorsements of the memecoin. In December 2023, Musk said he spends “hardly” any time thinking about cryptocurrency.
During the X Takeover podcast, Musk said X posts may need to get community notes generated faster to help dispel posts and videos taken out of context. When it comes to Musk giving any news opinions on crypto on his social media platform, Musk warned the audience to “double-check if that is real.”