For investors this is blessed bread.
Tesla announced Monday, January 8, that it had bought bitcoins for $ 1.5 billion and Elon Musk, the carmaker's whimsical CEO, said that buyers of its electric cars could in the future pay for their vehicle in part with the famous cryptocurrency.
Enough to explode the price of Bitcoin, which flirted with the bar of 45,000 dollars (37,000 euros), Wednesday, February 10.
This media boost from Elon Musk allowed this dematerialized currency to end in style a year to make any speculator salivate since its value has increased by 1,100% since March 2020.
Bitcoin no longer scares investors
If these announcements from Tesla allowed stock marketers to make their money, they "also constitute a strong signal that Bitcoin has acquired a certain financial normalcy", analyzes Nathalie Janson, economist and cryptocurrency specialist at the Neoma Business School management school , contacted by France 24.
For this expert, Bitcoin has gained legitimacy on the financial markets in two stages.
In 2017, first, when it became one of the "favorite investments for certain 'whales' [investors who spend large sums of money, editor's note] in Asia," recalls the specialist.
This made it possible to arouse the curiosity of large American funds which, until then, feared to burn their wings by betting on a currency which dragged the sulphurous reputation of "means of payment preferred by criminals".
From the end of 2019, American hedge funds began to take an increasing interest in bitcoin.
Then traditional banks incorporated it into their investment strategies, and finally, top-tier groups decided to add cryptocurrency to their portfolio.
Square, the electronic payment company founded by Twitter boss Jack Dorsey, led the way by buying bitcoin for $ 50 million in October 2020. The $ 1.5 billion put on the table by Tesla proves to the latest skeptical that bitcoin has "won its place in the most developed financial market in the world and is no longer reserved for risk professionals such as hedge funds", sums up Nathalie Janson.
Miami mayor to the rescue
The enthusiasm of the markets is one thing.
But the initial project of the promoters of bitcoin was not to round off the ends of the month of the speculators.
Cryptocurrency should ultimately serve as an alternative means of payment that would rid the world of financial intermediaries, such as banks.
In this regard, Tesla's announcements would be a step in the direction of a wider “mainstream adoption” of this cryptocurrency, writes Reuters.
The possibility of paying for an electric car in bitcoin could, in fact, help to democratize its use as a means of payment.
This is also what Francis Xavier Suarez, the mayor of Miami, seems to think, who welcomed Elon Musk's statements on Twitter.
In the process, he assured to think about the possibility for the taxpayers of the city to use this electronic currency to pay their taxes or to pay part of the wages of the employees of the municipality in bitcoin.
In the world of sports too, bitcoin is gaining ground.
Russell Okung, an American football player, received half of his annual compensation - which stands at $ 13 million - in bitcoin, his club, the Carolina Panthers, announced in January 2021.
Elon Musk's opportunism
But this salary arrangement is akin to an investment similar to that of most stock marketers and the statements of Elon Musk or the mayor of Miami are "announcement effects more than anything else", warns Vincent Boy, analyst of markets for the brokerage firm IG, contacted by France 24.
Concretely, "bitcoin is not yet ready to be widely adopted as a means of payment", assures Nathalie Janson.
It is a currency that is far too volatile to inspire confidence in the majority.
"I do not see the employees of the city hall of Miami accepting to be paid in bitcoin, because the value of this cryptocurrency can change completely overnight," confirms Vincent Boy.
This expert suspects Elon Musk of having acted more out of opportunistic calculation than out of "faith" in bitcoin.
"He is used to posting messages on Twitter which, thanks to his influence, can move the stock price on the stock market and he even had problems with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) because of that", recalls Vincent Boy.
Since Tesla unveiled its investment in bitcoin, Elon Musk has multiplied the messages on Twitter supporting cryptocurrency.
Positions that have probably contributed to the increase of nearly 20% in the value of bitcoin since the start of the week, estimates Vincent Boy.
"I would not be surprised if all of this is essentially a way for Tesla to take advantage of the current stock market trend around cryptocurrencies," said the market analyst.
The group has also specified in the documents provided to the SEC to announce its investment in bitcoins that it reserves "the possibility of reinvesting part of the money in other alternative assets, such as gold or other numerical values [other cryptocurrencies for example, Editor's note] ".
In short, he can resell his bitcoins at the first opportunity to make a profit and behave like the first speculator.
"I would take these big statements of support for Bitcoin more seriously when they come from personalities less fanciful than Elon Musk, such as Tim Cook (CEO of Apple) or Jeff Bezos (boss of Amazon)," concludes Vincent Boy .
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR