Tesla Buys Bitcoin, More Celebrities Buy Dogecoin, MasterCard Open to Crypto

February 12, 2021

What a big week for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies! The price of Bitcoin is currently sitting at $60,000 Canadian at the time of this writing. Simply unbelievable. Just think for a moment that before Christmas, you could have had a Bitcoin for less than $25,000 Canadian.

Not only that, but if you thought 2020 was big for institutional investment in the crypto space, 2021 is going to knock your socks off! The first six weeks of this new year is proof of that.

We can all thank Elon Musk, Gene Simmons, Lil’ Yachty and MasterCard for that.

Tesla Motors Buys $1.5 Billion USD in Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s price started this week off with a bang as the cryptocurrency rose 15% on news that Tesla Motors has moved $1.5 billion USD of its cash reserves into Bitcoin. Founder Elon Musk also says that Tesla customers will be able to pay for vehicles and services provided by the company in cryptocurrency very soon.

The news comes just a couple of weeks after Elon Musk changed his Twitter bio to #bitcoin and engaged in pumping Dogecoin to the moon. Musk understands better than most billionaire entrepreneurs that the future of investing depends on younger millennials becoming interested in both traditional financial markets and cryptocurrencies.

Now he’s putting his crypto where his mouth is. It’s big news not just because of the amount the company is investing, but also because Tesla Motors just graduated to S&P 500 status. The S&P 500 is an index fund of the top 500 Companies in America according to market capitalization. How well the index fund is doing is an indication of how well the broader economy is doing.

More S&P 500 companies will no doubt follow suit with a Bitcoin investment. Many investors are hoping Apple is next on the docket since they are already following in Tesla’s footsteps and entering the electric vehicle space.

The Celebrity Crypto Pump Continues

Prior to announcing Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin, Elon Musk spent two weeks pumping the price of Dogecoin on Twitter. He’s still doing it. The first time he did it, the price pumped 800% in one day. Now that he’s still doing it, more celebrities are getting in on the action. Rapper Lil’ Yachty is also tweeting about the Dogecoin fun.

Rockstar Gene Simmons doesn’t seem to care much for Dogecoin, but he did make it publicly known he’s holding onto $300,000 worth of BNB (Binance coin).

Even though the token itself has no fundamental value or use case, Dogecoin is certainly inspiring newbies to take an interest in cryptocurrencies and actually buy some. Who would’ve thought that a few years ago?

MasterCard Is Letting Merchants Accept Crypto This Year

This is hot off the press. MasterCard is going to let its merchants accept cryptocurrency this year. Can you believe how fast all of this adoption is happening? It’s crazy right?

MasterCard is already accepting crypto payments through third-party providers like Wirex and Uphold, but here’s what’s different. Now the company is eyeing the idea of settling transactions in crypto. Accepting settlement in crypto means seamlessly integrating the blockchain into every day transactions and not necessarily relying on third parties. This will be better for every day consumers in the long run.

The thing is that the company may not actually accept Bitcoin.

Leaders at the organization understand that users primarily hold Bitcoin as an investment vehicle, so the consensus for now is that MasterCard will use its own guiding principles for investing in blockchain projects, which is outlined in a document published by the company.

Don’t Forget to Buy Bitcoin with Netcoins

Even if you missed out on everything that happened this week and you missed out on everything that happened in 2020, the good news is you’re still not too late to join the party. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are quickly reaching the point of no return as far as worldwide acceptance, but you’re still getting in on the ground floor if you make 2021 the year you get involved.

Netcoins is one of the most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada, and it’s free to register. The avalanche of institutional investing and broader acceptance of cryptocurrencies isn’t going to slow down anytime soon.