Thread by @Reuters

#Bitcoin took another large stride toward mainstream acceptance after Elon Musk’s Tesla revealed it had bought $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency and would soon accept it as a form of payment for cars, sending the cryptocurrency shooting higher reut.rs/2MGNIz8

The announcement of Tesla’s investment, buried in Tesla’s 2020 annual report, follows months of tweets by Musk related to cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, sometimes helping fuel its rally reut.rs/3oYIVG5

So what’s all the fuss about?

#Bitcoin has been rallying hard, jumping over 300% in 2020, breezing past its record high reut.rs/3jB6ljN

This has been driven in part by big institutional investors who see it as a hedge against inflation in a pandemic era of huge financial stimulus, and are attracted by increasing regulation of the opaque crypto market

There have been signs that bitcoin may start to gain acceptance as a more mainstream means of payment.

Investors anticipated other companies will soon join a list of firms that invest in or hold bitcoin including BlackRock, Square and PayPal

Bitcoin, originally designed to subvert the establishment, has traveled a long way from its counterculture roots, with financial institutions like hedge funds and big corporations driving the market

Some industry experts view Musk and Tesla as quickening its inclusion into the financial mainstream. But if bitcoin’s history has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected

Musk has upended Wall Street over the last year and briefly became the world’s richest person as shares of Tesla surged nearly 500% to become the fifth most-valuable U.S. company, leaving other companies and investors eager to follow in his wake

The news sparked heavy trading in cryptocurrencies and caused exchanges like @Coinbase, @Gemini, @Binance to experience technical issues, according to @CoinDesk

The @SEC_News sparred with Musk and Tesla several times over his use of Twitter to discuss the company, ultimately resulting in his exit as company chairman and a pair of fines for Musk and Tesla. Experts said they would not be surprised by a closer look from regulators

#Bitcoin extended gains to a record high as the afterglow of Tesla’s investment in the cryptocurrency had investors reckoning it would become a mainstream asset class for both corporates and money managers reut.rs/3aRmhux

Elon Musk has displayed more than just a passing interest in #Bitcoin over the years and has used his candid Twitter feed to convey his opinion on #cryptos.

Here is a timeline of his comments over the years reut.rs/3aLfUZr