Musk Predicts Money's Demise, Energy-Based Bitcoin's Survival

Musk argues energy becomes the real currency in a post-scarcity era and that Bitcoin already converts electricity into digital worth.

Elon Musk imagined a future where energy-based worth replaces money as a measure of wealth and power.

Musk told Indian entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath on a webcast that “money disappears as a concept” ultimately.

He called the thought “kind of strange,” but in a world when “anyone can have anything,” people “no longer need money as a database for labor allocation.”

He tied that vision to AI and robotics advances. “If AI and robotics can meet all human needs, money becomes obsolete. its importance plummets,” he said.

Musk used science fiction to support his idea. He suggested reading Scottish author Iain Banks' Culture series.

Musk suggested some values matter in a post-scarcity society. He addressed Kamath about “some fundamental currencies, if you will, that are physics-based” before discussing energy. “Energy is the true currency,” he remarked.

He explained why Bitcoin fits this picture with that sentence. Musk added, “This is why I say Bitcoin is based on energy.

The network's design requires miners to use actual electricity and computing to protect it, which he believes links digital value to the physical world.

Musk distinguished energy from political power. “You can’t legislate energy,” he remarked. “You can’t just pass a law and have a lot of energy.” He said it was “very difficult to to generate energy, especially to harness energy in a useful way, to do useful work.”

Energy and electricity generation would likely be the de facto currency, he said. Whoever owns the most efficient and abundant energy sources controls the strongest “currency.”

That fits with Bitcoin's proof-of-work model, which turns electricity and hardware into digital scarcity. Advocates say this relationship to real-world energy costs provides a monetary system that central banks and politicians cannot inflate or rewrite.

Grayscale Launches First US Spot Chainlink ETF This Week

The launch timeline matches Bloomberg Intelligence estimates.

Based on internal listings data, senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas expects Grayscale's product to launch on December 2.

Balchunas warns this is just the start. He previously stated the US market might see more than 100 new digital-asset-linked ETFs in the next six months, and at least five spot crypto funds will launch within days.

The new supply followed a year of Washington regulatory changes that loosened crypto-backed financial product resistance.

Grayscale will construct its Chainlink ETF by turning its late 2020 LINK trust into a public-market vehicle.

The fund will follow LINK's spot price and add staking returns when permissible, like other converted business products.

The shift is due to increased competition. Bitwise is also preparing a LINK ETF, setting up a competition between issuers to grab institutional and retail flows to the oracle-focused token.

Grayscale has called Chainlink a bridge between blockchains and real-world financial systems, providing data, pricing feeds, and settlement triggers to crypto and traditional platforms.

Singapore approves Ripple's Regulated Payment Services Expansion

President Monica Long said Ripple likes Singapore's regulatory approach and sees the larger license as a platform for investment.

She said the action would help Ripple establish infrastructure for faster, more secure cross-border payments by financial institutions.

Ripple Payments provides on- and off-ramps for collections, custody, currency conversion, and payouts.

The solution employs digital payment tokens like RLUSD and XRP to settle international transactions, reducing fees and processing times for business users.

Ripple's plan includes Singapore since 2017. The company received its MPI license in 2023 to offer regulated digital tokens.

The MAS registry still lists token-related activities under the license, but the company believes the recent clearance expands its operating area to include institutional services.

The local regulator approved Ripple's dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD for institutional use in Abu Dhabi last week as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token.

Licensed Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) enterprises can use RLUSD for regulated financial activities in the free-zone financial center.

The ADGM-supervising Financial Services Regulatory Authority approved. RLUSD deployment is allowed if enterprises meet reserve, transparency, and compliance standards.

The move boosts Ripple's UAE expansion. The company received Dubai and Abu Dhabi permits and added Zand Bank and Mamo in recent months.

Ripple is also considering adding staking to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), which would integrate the decade-old blockchain into the fast growing field of decentralized finance.

Japan to Tax Crypto Gains at 20%, Matching Stock Market Rates

The idea would separate bitcoin trading profits from salaries and business earnings.

It would be taxed separately, with 15% going to the national government and 5% to prefectural and municipal agencies.

Japan's 2026 tax policy framework, due later this year, should include the reform.

Digital asset profits are taxed at progressive rates up to 55%, depending on total income.

Lawmakers say cutting the burden might boost domestic trading and tax collection.

They also believe the reform will spur innovation in the IT sector, particularly blockchain service providers.

The attempt shows that the government now views cryptocurrency as a mainstream investment class.

Industry data shows substantial retail activity. Eight million crypto accounts are active in Japan, and spot trade volume in September was 1.5 trillion yen, or $9.6 billion, according to the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association.

The adjustment would be one of the most crypto-friendly tax revisions by a major economy in years.

Trump Crypto Czar David Sacks Slams NYT “Hit Piece”

White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has reacted strongly to a New York Times examination into whether his policymaking role in the Trump administration overlaps with his private investments.

Sacks accused X of seeking a preset narrative and ignoring months of evidence that contradicted it in a post.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that Sacks's diverse technology and crypto interests could benefit from policy decisions he has shaped as a special government employee.

The story described Sacks's contacts with Silicon Valley leaders, his role in the administration's artificial intelligence plan, and his longstanding relationships to tech pioneers.

Sacks said the tale was a five-month “hoax.” In his essay, “INSIDE NYT’S HOAX FACTORY,” he stated reporters frequently revised their accusations after he supplied evidence debunking earlier claims.