cryptoslate.com
US regulators should allow crypto adoption to run its course, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who made an appearance at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills and responded to questions from New York Times columnist Kara Swisher.
As he commented on China’s recent crypto ban, Musk argued that the US government should stay away from trying to regulate crypto.
“Just let it fly”
“It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto, but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement,” Musk told Swisher, sharing his opinion on the current regulatory climate in the US.
“I would say do nothing. Just let it fly,” he added when Swisher asked his opinion on what the US government should do about cryptocurrencies and their regulation.
“I think there’s some value in cryptocurrency, but I wouldn’t say it’s the second coming of the Messiah,” added Musk, whose company disclosed purchasing $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) earlier this year.
While saying that he doesn’t consider himself to be “a massive cryptocurrency expert,” Musk elaborated on how the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies generates their value.
“You know, when governments can’t keep the hand out of the cookie jar and edit the money database, there’s probably some value to that,” he concluded.
Crypto mining might be playing a role
“I suppose crypto is fundamentally aimed at reducing the power of centralized government and they don’t like that,” Musk added, interpreting China’s hostility toward cryptocurrencies.
While arguing that he can’t say exactly what’s behind this hostility, he noted that crypto mining bans were possibly brought on by widening power outages in the country’s southern regions.
“A lot of South China right now is having random power outages, because the power demand is higher than expected,” said Musk, concluding that “crypto mining might be playing a role in that.”