Bitcoin involves data ‘mining’ to solve complex mathematical puzzles, an activity which is said to be energy intensive and heavily reliant on electricity generated by fossil-fuels – notably coal in China which accounts for the majority of Bitcoin mining activity.

In February, Tesla purchased $1.5bn worth of Bitcoin and said it will become the first major carmaker to accept the cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Some analysts said at the time that by accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, Tesla was unleashing the first major consumer experiment in not just bitcoin but cryptocurrency as whole.

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However, Tesla founder Elon Musk has now said in a tweet that the company would not sell any Bitcoin and intends to use Bitcoin for transactions as soon as mining takes place on a more sustainable basis.

The value of Bitcoin fell after Musk’s tweet.

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