Elon Musk trolls Jack Dorsey on Bitcoin, sets debate date

Tesla CEO Elon Musk trolled Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood in response to a tweet from Dorsey about Bitcoin while eventually agreeing to participate in a debate over the cryptocurrency.

"The #bitcoin development community above all else," Dorsey, a prominent proponent of the cryptocurrency, tweeted Wednesday. "As more companies and institutions get into the mix, we all want to help protect and spread what makes open development so perfect. This day is focused on education and actions to do just that."

Dorsey linked his tweet to a website for a "Bitcoin-focused initiative" called The B Word hosted by the Crypto Council for Innovation, which touts itself as "a global alliance of crypto industry leaders." Dorsey will be co-hosting the event with Wood.

"Bicurious?" Musk responded, likely in reference to "The B Word" website. 

He then followed up with another tweet, saying, "Oh right … Bitcoin haha."

"Bizarre!" Dorsey shot back. "Let’s you and I have a conversation at the event. You can share all your curiosities…"

He added in another tweet: "Let’s have THE talk." 

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"For the Bitcurious?" Musk asked, referencing those who may be curious about Bitcoin. "Very well then, let’s do it."

"Done! Will set up," Dorsey responded.

The talk or debate is set for an event on July 21. 

Wood then joined in on the fun, tweeting, "Brilliant! Looking forward to the discussion."

Dorsey's and Musk's attitudes toward the world's most popular cryptocurrency differ in that the Twitter founder has been unwavering in his support of Bitcoin while Musk has expressed concern with its impact on the environment. Bitcoin mining is done by solving mathematical puzzles on powerful computers that require large amounts of energy.

"We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel," Musk said in a May 12 statement posted to Twitter. "Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment."

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Tesla announced in February that it was acquiring $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and would accept the cryptocurrency as payment. Musk later backtracked on the decision, saying the crypto's use of energy was a threat to climate change and the automaker would no longer accept it as payment. 

Critics accused Musk of manipulating the market through his praise and criticism of the coin, as well as his unwavering support for a cryptocurrency that started as a joke but has since gained immense pop called Dogecoin.

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The Tesla founder on June 12, however, suggested that could change.

"When there's confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing Bitcoin transactions," Musk tweeted at the time.

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Dorsey, meanwhile, has suggested that he'll be in the Bitcoin game for the long haul. He suggested at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami that he would dedicate his work to Bitcoin if it weren't for his other two tech companies, Twitter and Square. Dorsey has purchased more than $200 million in Bitcoin through Square since October of last year.

"If I were not at Square or Twitter, I would be working on Bitcoin," Dorsey said during the conference. "…Whatever I can do — whatever my companies can do  — to make Bitcoin accessible to everyone, that is what I will do for the rest of my life."