On Monday, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk appeared on Third Row's Tesla Podcast to discuss a variety of topics.
At one point in the conversation, Musk was asked about his thoughts on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, a topic he tweets about frequently.
“I am neither here nor there in Bitcoin”, said Musk in terms of his general thoughts on financial technology.
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Musk was then asked to share how he felt after reading Satoshi Nakamoto's white paper for the first time, to which the Tesla CEO replied:
"I thought (the white paper) was very smart."
While Musk sees value in Bitcoin as a tool for illegal transactions, he does not appear to be a fan of the “digital gold” thesis around the asset as a store of value.
Crypts are for censorship-resistant transactions
As Musk delved into his general ideas and feelings about Bitcoin, his thesis on crypto became much clearer.
"It irritates crypto people, but there are transactions that are not within the legal balance," said Musk.
“And there are, of course, a lot of laws in different countries. And, usually, money is used for these transactions.
But for illegal transactions to take place, money must also be used for legal transactions. You need an illegal bridge for legal. That's where cryptocurrencies come in. ”
When asked if he was referring specifically to dark web activities, Musk replied:
“It cannot be fully dark because if not, how do you buy normal things?
And nowadays money is used much more rarely. It is increasingly difficult to use money. In some places, you can't even use money.
Therefore, there is a forcing function for transactions that are illegal, almost legal and, in some cases, legal. But it must be legal and illegal. ”
While Musk sees value in Bitcoin as a tool for payments that would not otherwise be allowed, Tesla's CEO also sees the need for a bridge between a crypto-driven black market and the legal economy.
It should be noted that Musk has been quite consistent with his views on Bitcoin over the years, as he shared similar thoughts on the topic as early as 2014.
