Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed that he believes the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin ($DOGE) is better for transactions than other cryptoassets like Bitcoin ($BTC).
Speaking to Time Magazine after being named time’s 2021 Person of the Year, as reported by CNBC, Musk revealed that he believes DOGE has a major advantage over other cryptocurrencies when it comes to transacting it. He said:
Fundamentally, bitcoin is not a good substitute for transactional currency. Even though it was created as a silly joke, dogecoin is better suited for transactions.
Musk added that bitcoin’s transaction volume is low while its cost per transaction is high, making it more suitable as a store of value. Being a store of value means investors want to hold onto their BTC and not sell it or move it in transactions.
Tesla, as CryptoGlobe reported, has invested $1.5 billion in the flagship cryptocurrency earlier this year, and is estimated to be up at least $1 billion on its investment, despite making a small sale after making its initial acquisition.
While Elon Musk is bullish on cryptocurrencies in general, he doubts these will replace fiat currencies. Speaking to Time he said he is “not a huge hater of fiat currency like many in the crypto world are,” although he conceded there “are advantages with crypto relative to fiat, in that fiat currency tends to get diluted by whatever government it is.”
The CEO of Tesla pointed out that fiat currency dilution ends up “being a pernicious tax on people, especially those who have cash savings.” Musk has himself invested in BTC, DOGE, and ETH. He was notably an influential figure supporting the meme-inspired cryptocurrency when its price exploded earlier this year, along with search interest for it.
This month a survey found that investors are more aware of DOGE than of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization Ethereum. Nearly three-quarters of respondents, 74%, revealed they have heard of Dogecoin, while around 56% revealed they have heard of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Behind these two altcoins came Litecoin, Cardano, and Tether’s USDT stablecoin, with awareness levels hovering above 25% for these assets.
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