Bitcoin bounces as Musk says Tesla likely to start reaccepting payments

Bitcoin prices got another boost on Thursday morning after Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) boss Elon Musk said the electric car maker will likely start reaccepting payments using the digital currency. Speaking at the B Word conference on Wednesday, Musk said Tesla is currently conducting due diligence into the amount of renewable energy currently being used to mine Bitcoin after previously saying in May that the firm would stop accepting the crypto as a payment method amid concerns over its impact on the environment. READ: Bitcoin price rebounds above US$30,000 Musk added that if Tesla confirms that Bitcoin mining is powered by at least 50% renewable energy or that there is “a trend towards increasing that number”, the firm will likely resume accepting the cryptocurrency. The billionaire also said that he personally owned Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin, on top of the Bitcoin currently held by Tesla and SpaceX. Musk’s comments sent Bitcoin up 4% to US$32,074 in early deals, giving it a market cap of around US$602bn.