Tech mogul Elon Musk has, for the first time, mentioned the Ripple-promoted XRP cryptocurrency while answering questions from the attendees after giving his speech at a Pittsburgh town hall.
Musk’s mention of XRP sparked enthusiasm among XRP fans, with some even accusing the Tesla/SpaceX CEO of being a secret supporter of the cryptocurrency.
“Not Endorsement Of XRP”
While speaking at the town hall in Pittsburgh, billionaire Elon Musk was asked whether he thinks the XRP Ledger would eventually be incorporated into financial institutions considering the level of hostility from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under its current regime of Gary Gensler.
Rather than stating anything specific about XRP, Musk shared his view on crypto assets in general. The centibillionaire said he believes crypto is an “interesting and probably valuable bulwark against centralized control.”
Musk quickly clarified that this was “definitely not an endorsement or lack of endorsement of XRP.” Nonetheless, he emphasized that “crypto by its very nature helps with individual freedom.”
Musk And His Beloved Dogecoin
While members of the XRP community have been calling Elon Musk’s attention to the seventh-largest crypto, the tech entrepreneur has refrained from publicly mentioning it via his X posts.
Musk’s loyalty lies with the industry’s oldest and largest meme-inspired cryptocurrency, Dogecoin (DOGE). Given his unabated infatuation with the canine-themed meme coin, DOGE has historically pumped on Musk’s comments and public posts. In April 2022, Musk teased DOGE payments on X, then known as Twitter, proposing Dogecoin as one of the payment options for Twitter Blue, the site’s subscription service with premium features.
Musk’s electric car company Tesla already accepts DOGE payments for merch purchases. The Tesla CEO has also suggested that “at some point” the EV manufacturer should accept it as payment for its cars.
More recently, Musk has frequently mentioned D.O.G.E while referring to a so-called Department of Governmental Efficiency — an idea proposed by Democratic presidential candidate Donald Trump for a government efficiency commission that would be helmed by Musk if he is reelected next month.
It’s unclear whether Musk still plans on integrating DOGE on X, but that hasn’t stopped the world’s richest man from pumping the coin on the micro-blogging site.
