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New York (CNN Business) -
Tesla founder Elon Musk is one of the strongest voices in the crypto world.
He frequently uses his massive platform on Twitter to post about various digital assets and often causes wild swings in their prices, leading some to question his true intentions.
But this Wednesday, Musk tried to clarify that he is both a cryptocurrency investor and a supporter.
During an event called The B Word, which aimed to "explain how institutions can adopt bitcoin," along with Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, Musk said the only Major personal investments you have outside of your companies, Tesla, and SpaceX are in bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin.
He added that Tesla and SpaceX also own bitcoin.
Despite the confusion he has recently created in the crypto world, Musk said he is "a supporter of bitcoin and the idea of cryptocurrency in general."
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The prices of several large cryptocurrencies, including the three that Musk owns, have soared in recent months in response to his statements and actions at Tesla.
Dogecoin crashed in May after Musk appeared on Saturday Night Live.
That same month, Musk said that Tesla would stop accepting bitcoin as payment due to the large amount of energy used to mine it, causing the price to drop.
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But ultimately, Musk said at the event that his financial success is partly related to the performance of such digital currencies.
And in the style of Musk, he put it in a way that could get the attention of regulators.
"If the price of bitcoin goes down, I lose money," Musk said.
"I'll be able to pump, but not discharge ... I definitely don't believe in raising the price and selling, or something like that. I would like bitcoin to be successful."
A "
pump and dump
" is a type of securities fraud in which someone tries to increase the price of an asset through false, misleading or exaggerated statements (the "pump") and then It sells them to take advantage of the inflated prices (the "dump"), this type of system is monitored and processed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Musk is no stranger to this agency. In 2018, he was charged with securities fraud for the way he uses Twitter, including to publish information about Tesla's financial forecast. Musk agreed to a settlement that requires lawyers for Tesla to review his posts about the company, which he has reportedly violated twice in the past two years.
On Wednesday, Musk and Dorsey also addressed environmental concerns about mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which require huge amounts of energy to power the computers needed to "mine" them.
There are a finite number of bitcoins and computers must complete complex equations to access (or "mine") them and put them into circulation;
as more bitcoins are mined, the more difficult and energy intensive the process becomes.
How bitcoin mining works
In May, Tesla halted bitcoin transactions after Musk said he realized that the cryptocurrency network could be reliant on coal-based power.
"Tesla's mission is to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy. We can't be the company that does that and we can't manage bitcoin's energy use properly either," Musk said.
"Now, it appears that Bitcoin is shifting much more towards renewables."
Musk said the company keeps bitcoin on its books and will likely start accepting bitcoin payments again when about half of the energy used to mine bitcoin comes from clean sources like solar and wind power, something he had previously said on Twitter.
(However, Musk is known for making promises and then backtracking.)
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Dorsey, whose company Square bought billions in bitcoin and created an app for crypto developers, highlighted the potential of harnessing various forms of unused energy to power cryptocurrency mining operations.
He mentioned a company called Great American Mining, which captures methane flares in oil fields to power its bitcoin mining systems.
"Imagine all the unused energy that is wasted every day and being able to get energy and turn it into a safe and sound monetary system for the planet," said Dorsey.
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