Our favourite Pretoria expat has called Bitcoin ‘true currency’ and crypto markets are buzzing. Classic Elon.
Elon Musk has stirred things up again, calling Bitcoin a “true currency” grounded in energy and physics rather than politics. Cue the predictable market frenzy and X meltdowns.
But here’s the thing. This isn’t him shouting about Dogecoin for a laugh. His argument is actually quite clever. He’s positioning Bitcoin as money backed by computational energy rather than government promises.
For those of us planning Christmas holidays back home and hoping exchange rates swing in the right direction, that idea hits differently. When you’ve seen what political decisions can do to a currency, money that exists outside that system sounds appealing.
I’ll admit, I’ve always been fascinated by crypto. Dabbled a bit over the years with some success, some lessons learned. There’s something compelling about the whole concept when you’re living as an expat, dealing with multiple currencies and watching exchange rates eat into your money every time you transfer funds.
Elon left South Africa at 17 and never looked back. Now he’s worth billions and doesn’t need to bow to any single country’s financial system. Very much the ultimate expat move.
Probably both, if we’re honest. The man knows his words move markets. But he’s also built electric car companies and rocket manufacturers. Energy calculations are literally his thing.
So when he talks about Bitcoin being backed by computational energy, he’s not just throwing words around. Whether that makes it a good investment is another question entirely.
Is Elon onto something here, or is this just another billionaire (soon to be a trillionaire) playing with markets because he can? Does the idea of politically independent money resonate with you after watching currency chaos back home?
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