Cryptocurrencies lose billions of dollars after Tesla announced that it would no longer accept Bitcoin payments

The market value of cryptocurrencies has decreased by 13.01% in the past 24 hours after Tesla leader Elon Musk announced that the company would not accept Bitcoin as a payment method for electric cars made by Tesla.

Cryptocurrency has a market cap of $ 2.2 billion now, having lost more than $ 300 billion, data from CoinMarketCap shows. Bitcoin’s valuation, in particular, fell 12.33% to $ 923 billion (or $ 49.63 billion per unit).

Bitcoin value since the beginning of the year

“Tesla has suspended payments for vehicles using bitcoins. We are concerned about the increasing use of fossil fuels in mining and Bitcoin transactions, especially coal, which is causing the worst emissions among the fuels,” says the Tesla CEO on his Twitter account.

Elon Musk realizes that “cryptocurrencies are a good idea on many levels” and says he believes “they have a promising future,” but stresses that “this cannot be at the expense of the environment.”

The millionaire adds that the company is looking at other cryptocurrencies that use less than 1% of energy per bitcoin transaction.

This is a twist in Elon Musk’s speech, after he stated in February that the digital currency was about to gain greater acceptance by investors, and for this reason, it bought $ 1,500 million in bitcoins the previous month. Additionally, Tesla has informed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US capital market regulator, that it is preparing to accept cryptocurrency as a method of payment, thus pushing Bitcoin to new heights.

Also this week, Musk said on the US program “Saturday Night Live” that dogecoin, a cryptocurrency created as a “meme”, is just a scam.

Despite the decline, Bitcoin is still 90% more valuable than it was at the beginning of the year. Its appreciation has been ramped up in part by the entry of new institutional investors – such as auto maker Tesla by Elon Musk, which is now declining – or the promotion of others, as in the case of software company Microstrategy, who bet when buying it, dragging other small investors in addition , Some companies like PayPal or Portuguese electricity dealer Luzboa accept payments in bitcoins.

But not only: the crisis caused by the epidemic and fears of inflation have led to greater volatility in the capital market, prompting many investors to turn to Bitcoin. It is already considered by many to be the new digital gold.