Musk calls Bitcoin a "fundamental" and "physics-based" currency
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Musk calls Bitcoin a "fundamental" and "physics-based" currency
Musk said Bitcoin is a "physics-based currency" tied to energy, and suggested that advances in artificial intelligence and robotics could eventually make money obsolete.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy: Micah Zimmerman
Translated by: AididiaoJP, Foresight News
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has reignited discussion around Bitcoin, describing it as an energy-based, "physics-based fundamental currency."
In a recent podcast conversation with Nikhil Kamath, Musk emphasized that Bitcoin's value is closely tied to real-world energy consumption, highlighting the difference between digital assets and traditional fiat currencies.
"Energy is the real currency," Musk said. "That's why I say Bitcoin is energy-based. You can't legislate energy into existence. You can't just pass a law and suddenly have abundant energy."
The Tesla founder drew attention to the difficulty of producing and utilizing energy, linking it to Bitcoin's "proof-of-work" system, which requires substantial computational power and electricity to secure the network.
He also referenced the Kardashev Scale—a method for measuring a civilization's level of energy consumption—as a lens for understanding societal progress. He argued that assessing a civilization by its ability to generate and manage energy aligns with Bitcoin's design principles, where value is supported by scarcity and computational input.
Looking further into the future, Musk suggested that advances in artificial intelligence and robotics might render money unnecessary.
"In a future where anyone can have anything, I think you no longer need money as a database for labor allocation," he said, citing Iain M. Banks' *Culture* series—which depicts a post-scarcity society—as a blueprint in which superintelligent machines could manage resources without a monetary system.
Musk: You Can't "Print" Energy
Musk also highlighted Bitcoin's unique attributes. Unlike fiat currencies that governments can print at will, Bitcoin's proof-of-work system ties its creation process to energy and computing power, giving it inherent scarcity and making it relatively independent from political influence.
"Governments can print money, but they can't print energy," Musk said.
While Musk envisions a future where energy may become a more fundamental measure of value, he acknowledged that traditional money still dominates today's world.
National currencies continue to dominate commerce, wages, and savings, while cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin currently exist primarily as alternative assets rather than replacements for everyday transactions.
Musk's remarks serve as a reminder of the philosophical foundations underpinning Bitcoin—one rooted in physics and energy, rather than policy and government control.
Earlier today, Bitcoin prices dropped 8% in early Monday trading to the mid-$84,000 range, extending a two-month downtrend and erasing over 30% of its value since hitting an all-time high in October.
This decline follows a brief rebound last week when Bitcoin rose above $92,500, after having dipped to lows near $81,000 in November.
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