In an already turbulent and volatile week for the financial markets, with the shorted stock prices of companies like GameStop surging, eyes returned to the world of Bitcoin after Elon Musk added “#bitcoin” to his Twitter bio.
After the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Inc., added the hashtag early on Friday morning, Bitcoin prices skyrocketed by as much as 20%, climbing suddenly in the early hours of the morning. According to cryptocurrency site CoinDesk, Bitcoin prices rose $5,000 in an hour to $37,299, increasing further to $37,653 by 8.00 a.m. ET.
In addition to updating his Twitter bio to include #bitcoin, Musk also sent out a “cryptic tweet,” saying, “In retrospect, it was inevitable.”
In retrospect, it was inevitable
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 29, 2021
Bitcoin wasn’t the only cryptocurrency to witness sudden changes recently, with the subreddit group SatoshiStreetBets leading investors to drive up the price of Dogecoin, “a cryptocurrency inspired by the popular ‘doge’ meme,” with Dogecoin up 800% at one point in the past 24 hours.
Earlier this month, Bitcoin hit an all-time-high of $41,940, and briefly fell below $30,000 last week. The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency is “still about 13% off its all-time high but up around 25% since the start of the year.” As reported by CNBC, “Bitcoin more than quadrupled over the course of 2020, with crypto bulls citing increased institutional investment as a driving force of the rally.”
Elon Musk has fueled price spikes in the past with his Twitter account, having “helped extend a rally in GameStop’s share price after hours Tuesday, after tweeting “GameStonk” and linking to the WallStreetBets Reddit community.”
Gamestonk!! https://t.co/RZtkDzAewJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 26, 2021
According to Reuters, “Shares of fast-growing Polish game developer CD Projekt soared 16% on Thursday after Musk tweeted: “The esthetics of Cyberpunk are incredible btw…” and “online retailing platform Etsy’s stock jumped 9% on Tuesday right after Musk tweeted: ‘I kinda love Etsy.’”
On January 12, Elon Musk “gave his 42 million Twitter followers a two-word directive” to “Use Signal,” after which investors rushed to buy shares in the wrong company, Signal Advance Inc., “a small Texas-based company that manufactures devices used to diagnose health issues.”
Use Signal
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
Bitcoin — a decentralized digital currency — was invented in 2008, and was first used in 2009 after its implementation was released as open-source software.