While the billionaire Tesla CEO continues with his plans to turn X (formerly Twitter) into an “everything app” that would even rival payments giant PayPal, new reports suggest that Elon Musk had initially considered creating an entirely new blockchain-based social media platform that would have a payment system powered by his favorite crypto token, Dogecoin (DOGE).
According to an excerpt published in the Wall Street Journal by biographer Walter Isaacson of his new book titled “Elon Musk”, he wrote that prior to purchasing Twitter for a whopping $44 billion last year, the world’s richest man was secretly plotting to use Dogecoin to “beat Bitcoin hands down” and turn the crypto token into the “currency of Earth”.
Elon Musk Secretly Plotted To Topple Bitcoin’s Market Dominance Using Dogecoin
Musk, who is a vocal proponent of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, has been known to be supporting the semi-serious crypto project Dogecoin since 2018 and has advised its developers since at least 2021. Although details regarding the level of funding made by the SpaceX and Tesla founder were not revealed, it is clear as day what his intentions were.
In an interview given to the crypto news outlet Decrypt, one of Dogecoin’s core developers revealed that Musk had been in touch with the team since the first time the project came to his attention.
During discussions, Musk asked the development team if they could further improve the Dogecoin network’s transaction throughput, while focusing on reducing its energy consumption. The idea here was to make the protocol highly scalable, energy-efficient, and sustainable to meet climate goals while transforming it into a prominent blockchain.
Dogecoin, which is a fork of Bitcoin (BTC), consumes an estimated 7% of the total energy used by the Bitcoin network. Musk, who was voted the honorary CEO of Dogecoin by the DOGE community, even offered to fund the cryptocurrency’s development, only to be politely turned down by the team.
Dogecoin Soared To New Heights Under Musk’s Patronage
DOGE soared to its all-time high of $0.71 under Musk’s patronage. He considers the meme token to have the potential to become one of the most significant projects in the crypto market.
The Tesla founder’s pro-Dogecoin tweets have been significant in improving its popularity and value so much that crypto exchanges were forced to list the once hopeless token.
In July, Musk added the Dogecoin symbol to his X (formerly Twitter) bio and also changed Twitter’s logo to that of the DOGE mascot. He is also in constant communication with the DOGE community. Since the billionaire’s involvement with Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency has seen its net value rise to an eye-catching $9 billion.
The Tesla Billionaire Plans To Turn X Into An Updated Version Of PayPal
Similarly, in recent months, Musk is reported to have been in conversations with Wall Street executives to transform X into an updated version of PayPal, a company he co-founded in the early 2000s.
According to an X post by Fox Business correspondent Charles Gasparino, Musk plans to build “a new-fangled payment ecosystem” within X that will seek to offer the lowest transaction costs in the industry and help monetize user information. The tech billionaire’s vision for X is to turn it into a payment platform where customers can send or receive money, hand out tips, and purchase media content.
Being a champion for free speech, Musk has often criticized Twitter’s censorship attempts under the stewardship of founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey. He is in the notion that censorship-resistant social media is vital to ensuring a free society and a functioning democracy, which is said to be his ultimate goal with X.
X Will Not Be Releasing Its Own Cryptocurrency Or Trading Platform
In August, Musk denied various media reports that suggested X could be working on building an in-app crypto trading platform. The speculation was fueled by the company’s partnership with stock and crypto exchange eToro to showcase market prices of digital assets on X.
There were also rumors that X will eventually be releasing its crypto token to rival the likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, which has since been denied by the billionaire entrepreneur.
Just last month, financial regulators in Rhode Island granted X a state currency transmitter license. The company has been on a spree to attain state financial regulatory licenses, further cementing Musk’s plans to turn Twitter into a payments platform. We could soon see X users using in-app services to transfer, store, and trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Musk has revealed that he personally holds Bitcoin and Dogecoin among other digital assets.
Tesla and SpaceX Holds Bitcoin Under Company Reserves
In 2021, EV giant Tesla and space agency SpaceX – both owned by the billionaire – purchased a combined $2 billion worth of BTC for their company reserves. Regarding the move, Musk said it was done considering the digital asset’s long-term price potential. However, both firms cashed out 75% of their holdings in the second quarter of last year after struggling to book a profit in their earnings.
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After Tesla and SpaceX sold their Bitcoin holdings, Musk told his Twitter followers the decision to sell the asset should not taken as a verdict on Bitcoin.
Elon Musk’s biography is set to be published on September 12. Meanwhile, Dogecoin (DOGE) is trading at $0.063 – down 2% from yesterday. The meme token has lost over 91% of its value since its all-time high of $0.71 in May 2021.
