Elon Musk’s recent remarks on Bitcoin and its grounding in physical energy have ignited fresh debate across the crypto industry. The Tesla and SpaceX founder, who once championed Dogecoin, is now signalling a deeper appreciation for Bitcoin’s monetary design and its contrast with government-backed fiat currency.
Musk Highlights Bitcoin’s Link to Energy
In a discussion with Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, Musk suggested that Bitcoin could eventually replace fiat money because its value is tied to real, measurable energy. The clip rapidly spread across social media and marked one of Musk’s most direct comments on Bitcoin in years.
Musk said that energy is the “true currency” and added that Bitcoin is rooted in energy because it cannot be created by legislation or political decision. He explained that societies may ultimately move away from money as we know it. He added that power generation could become a default measure of value in the future.
How DOGE Led Musk Back Toward Bitcoin
Daniel Batten, a well known Bitcoin mining advocate, told the Chain Reaction show that Musk’s recent experiences with US government inefficiency played a major role in his shift. According to Batten, Musk genuinely believed it was possible to control government spending within a fiat system. His initiative to create the Department of Government Efficiency, commonly called DOGE, was meant to address excessive federal expenditure.
Batten said the project failed because the core problem continued to be unlimited money creation. He explained that Musk realised that no government can reduce spending when it has access to infinite money printing. This experience pushed Musk to look for a form of money that cannot be created endlessly.
Batten added that Musk’s physics background helped him understand why an energy-based monetary protocol like Bitcoin is resistant to inflation. Energy cannot be printed into existence, which makes Bitcoin’s design more sound and predictable. He said that Musk is gradually concluding that Bitcoin offers a more stable system than fiat currency.
Rethinking Bitcoin’s Environmental Reputation
Batten also discussed the shift in public perception regarding Bitcoin mining. During the 2010s, mainstream media repeatedly framed Bitcoin as environmentally harmful. Research has since challenged this narrative, including Cambridge University’s 2024 Digital Mining Industry Report.
Batten claimed that many European regulators still rely on outdated and inaccurate metrics, particularly the belief that Bitcoin uses excessive energy for every transaction. He emphasised that Bitcoin’s energy use comes from mining rather than individual transactions. Bitcoin can process thousands of additional transactions without increasing energy consumption. He said that the per-transaction metric misleads policymakers and makes Bitcoin appear unscalable when that is not the case.
Growing Acceptance of Bitcoin’s Energy Use
The industry now sees a clearer distinction between Bitcoin’s mining energy requirements and its transaction capacity. Batten argued that once regulators understand this difference, many of the long held objections to Bitcoin’s environmental footprint fall apart. As more research emerges, policymakers are beginning to reconsider earlier assumptions about the network.
For readers looking to explore the technical, economic and environmental aspects of the sector, the 2025 Bitcoin mining deep dive offers a detailed examination of the industry’s evolution.
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