Elon Musk is sailing with the wind behind him thanks to his mischievous tweets about Bitcoin and could soon end up under the magnifying glass of the US authorities.
After skyrocketing Bitcoin's value in a few weeks - here it is quotation in real time - with his tweets, Musk seems to want to go back to his steps to divert attention a bit. Indeed, following the provocative comments released by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, the South African entrepreneur now appeared to be very critical of BTC.
The position of the head of Binance
Bloomberg's Twitter account posted a segment of an interview with "CZ" in which he appeared stunned by Musk's recent enthusiasm for Doge.
"I am surprised that Elon is so excited about Dogecoin - but this is the free decentralized world, anyone can like anything, he can like Dogecoin, and I firmly believe he is not associated with Dogecoin in any way," he said. the head of Binance.
“It is one of those coins that was born as a joke and is gaining popularity over time for various reasons that no one expected. But the fact is, Tesla bought Bitcoin, not Dogecoin, so I think Elon likes the former a lot more. "
The seemingly innocent comments triggered a sharp response from Musk - and one in particular, it is thought to put him under the US Securities and Exchange Commission's radar again.
Musk said: “What Tesla does does not directly reflect my opinion. Having some Bitcoins is equivalent to having some cash in your pocket. I am not an investor, but an engineer and apart from Tesla shares, I do not trade other shares. However, who wouldn't look to the future of coins thinking about Bitcoin? ”.
Tweets that make noise
A curious turnaround on his previous enthusiasm for Bitcoin - it has yet to make noise in the markets, but, observers say, it echoed in the corridors of the Washington SEC headquarters.
"One week Elon Musk changes his social media bio to the word 'Bitcoin' and sends the markets into total overdrive, the next week he calls it a bluff," an insider said.
“Nobody doubts that he has the right to have an opinion, and he also has the right to change that opinion, but if your opinion affects others so much, well, it's not something that should be said lightly. Here I say it and here I deny it, this contrast, this apparent pour parler, this change of sentiment - call it what you want - will make the authorities raise more than one eyebrow. "
It wouldn't be the first time SpaceX creator has gotten into trouble with the SEC over his Twitter business. In 2018, the SEC filed for a lawsuit to sue Musk after he used the platform to reveal his intention to make Tesla private. That, the finance authority said, inflated stock prices by more than 13%, in violation of securities laws. The legal battle raged on for more than a year and ended after the 49-year-old agreed to file a public budget.
