A cryptocurrency called StopElon has grown by 1,800% in value in just 24 hours as part of a backlash against Elon Musk.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO had been considered an ally by the cryptocurrency faithful, but some changed their minds last week after Musk revealed that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin payments. Now they’re fighting back by launching their own protest cryptocurrency — with the ultimate goal of taking control of Tesla.
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StopElon has emerged as a token minted on the Binance Smart Chain, and in the last 24 hours has risen in value from $0.0000019 to $0.00003679.
You could still argue that it’s still nearly worth nothing, given that a single U.S. dollar could buy you 27,180 STOPELON. Still, it’s not the size of the individual coin price that matters as much as the gains when it comes to investing, as Dogecoin enthusiasts can attest.
With a market cap above $17 million after two days, StopElon is already starting to accumulate wider value. The total StopElon supply sees 50% of coins made available for purchase and 40% already burned and removed from circulation, with 5% each for the developers’ wallet and marketing.
The StopElon official website lists ambitious, albeit appropriately meme-like goals for the project, including creating enough value to buy Tesla stock, with the ultimate plan being to purchase full control of the company.
Prior to last week’s Tesla news, the Dogecoin-loving Musk was seen as an incredibly influential, meme-sharing billionaire who crypto enthusiasts could count as their own. Tesla’s move in January to buy up $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and also accept the cryptocurrency as payment for electric cars only seemed to affirm that notion.
However, that changed last week when Musk shared that Tesla had changed its viewpoint on Bitcoin, due to the environmental impact of its energy-intensive mining model. Tesla will no longer accept BTC as payment, and will wait to transact it further once “mining transitions to more sustainable energy.”
Just as Tesla’s original January announcement helped send Bitcoin’s price soaring to new heights, last week’s reversal sent its value in the opposite direction. Bitcoin’s price has fallen 22% over the last week to a current value of around $43,386 (via CoinGecko), and many of the other top cryptocurrency performers have followed suit.
Musk has since affirmed his belief in the potential of cryptocurrencies and tweeted that he is working with Dogecoin developers to improve its transaction efficiency. Not every cryptocurrency has the same kind of energy-intensive mining demands as Bitcoin, either. Over the weekend, Tom’s Guide highlighted five alternative coins that are more eco-friendly by design, including Nano (NANO) and Chia (XCH).
Disclosure: The author of this story held less than 1 BTC at the time of publication.
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