Bitcoin has exploded back into the limelight this year, triggering surprise interest from some of Wall Street’s biggest investors.
The bitcoin price has topped $70,000 per bitcoin, pushing up the price of other major cryptocurrencies ethereum and XRP as well as boosting the likes of the meme-based dogecoin—which Tesla billionaire Elon Musk recently confirmed he was backing.
Now, as the $10 trillion asset manager BlackRock gears up for the second stage of its crypto revolution plan, Musk has teased another X upgrade that some bitcoin and crypto traders think could transform the market.
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“The circle will be complete,” Musk posted to X this week alongside an image linking X with his old payments company that became PayPalPYPL. The post, coming amid a bitcoin, ethereum, XRP and crypto price pump, sent the dogecoin price higher.
“As the ‘everything’ app, you should totally integrate crypto transactions,” the X account of crypto exchange Kraken replied to Musk.
Earlier this month, speaking at a Tesla factory, Elon Musk teased the possibility of buying Tesla cars with dogecoin—declaring “dogecoin to the moon” despite revealing what he thinks is the “true currency” last month.
X, formally known as Twitter, has quietly been acquiring money-transmitter licenses across the U.S. over the last year, with Musk saying he plans to “revolutionize” payments in 2024.
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While Musk has gone off crypto compared to his 2021 interest in the technology, he continues to be one of the bitcoin price’s prime movers.
In 2021, Musk’s regular posting about bitcoin, dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies would cause huge price swings.
When Tesla announced it had added bitcoin to its balance sheet in early 2021, it sent the bitcoin price sharply higher and sparked a wave of speculation that other companies could follow in its footsteps—though few ever did.
Tesla eventually sold most of its bitcoin but continues to hold almost 10,000 bitcoin worth around $700 million and accept dogecoin for merchandise. Musk has also said his rocket company SpaceX holds some bitcoin, ethereum and dogecoin and supports some crypto transactions.
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