Elon Musk’s X became the first large online platform fined under the European Union’s Digital Services Act on Friday.
The European Commission announced that X would be fined nearly $140 million, with the potential to face “periodic penalty payments” if the platform fails to make corrections.
A third of the fine came from one of the first moves Musk made when taking over Twitter. In November 2022, he changed the platform’s historical use of a blue checkmark to verify the identities of notable users. Instead, Musk started selling blue checks for about $8 per month, immediately prompting a wave of imposter accounts pretending to be notable celebrities, officials, and brands.
The EC is taking issue with the fact that X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, has been allowing anyone to buy a "blue checkmark," the platform's long-standing symbol that a user has been verified to be who they are claiming to be.
"You could really, in a very fundamental sense, talk about redrawing the border around a brain," Hodak says, "possibly to include four hemispheres, or a device, or a whole group of people."
Texting while driving is banned in nearly every state, even with the use of advanced driver-assistance systems like Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software.
Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk has stoked fresh debate about Bitcoin after a recent social post in which he said the cryptocurrency is “based on energy” and that energy cannot be faked. The comment, posted on X, quickly drew attention from investors and politicians alike.
Musk’s remark landed as markets moved. Bitcoin was down, and trading roughly around $86,500 at the time of the post, and crypto coverage noted a flurry of reactions across social feeds and trading desks. Some market watchers saw the statement as a boost for BTC’s narrative as an inflation hedge.
Musk Frames Bitcoin As ‘Energy Money’
According to Musk, the act of mining ties Bitcoin to physical energy: miners consume electricity to secure the network and mint new coins, which he said makes Bitcoin harder to fake than printed fiat.
In a fresh clip shared from Nikhil Kamath’s interview, Musk makes his stance clear:
The line of argument presents energy use not as a flaw but as a kind of proof that creates scarcity. Several crypto outlets ran pieces unpacking the idea and how it contrasts with past criticism Musk voiced about mining’s environmental toll.
Market Moves And Political Echoes
Traders and some policy figures reacted quickly. Bitcoin backers posted support, while others urged caution. Meanwhile, separate coverage noted that SpaceX recently moved almost $270 million worth of Bitcoin, a move that traders flagged as potentially market-swaying. Those on both sides of the debate said Musk’s post could influence investor sentiment, at least in the short run.
What The Energy Argument Means
The core of the claim is simple: you cannot manufacture energy the way a central bank can print more currency. That idea appeals to people worried about rising public spending on tech and AI, which some analysts say could put pressure on fiat money.
But critics point out a gap: energy used to mine Bitcoin does not become a stored reserve like gold. It is consumed. Value, they argue, still relies heavily on trust and demand, not energy alone.
Past Stance And Ongoing Questions
Musk’s comment marks a visible shift from his earlier stance in 2021 when Tesla paused Bitcoin payments over mining energy concerns.
Since then, the mining sector has changed in parts, with more projects claiming use of renewables, while others still depend on fossil fuels. The debate now mixes technical, economic and political threads, making clear answers hard to find.
Featured image from Lovepik, chart from TradingView
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has reignited some discussion around Bitcoin, describing it as a “fundamental physics-based currency” grounded in energy.
Speaking on a recent podcast with Nikhil Kamath, Musk emphasized that Bitcoin’s value is tied to real-world energy expenditure, highlighting a distinction between digital assets and traditional fiat currencies.
“Energy is the true currency,” Musk said. “This is why I said Bitcoin is based on energy. You can’t legislate energy. You can’t just, you know… pass a law and suddenly have a lot of energy.”
The Tesla founder drew attention to the difficulty of producing and harnessing energy, linking it to Bitcoin’s proof-of-work system, which requires substantial computational power and electricity to secure the network.
He also referenced the Kardashev scale — a method for measuring a civilization’s energy consumption — as a lens for understanding societal progress. He suggested that evaluating a civilization by its capacity to generate and manage energy mirrors Bitcoin’s design principles, where scarcity and computational effort underpin value.
Looking further ahead, Musk proposed that advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics could render money obsolete.
“In a future where anyone can have anything, I think that you no longer need money as a database for labor allocation,” he said, citing Iain M. Banks’ post-scarcity Culture series as a blueprint for societies where super-intelligent machines manage resources without monetary systems.
JUST IN: Elon Musk says #Bitcoin is a fundamental currency based on energy
Musk also underscored the unique qualities of Bitcoin. Unlike fiat money, which governments can print at will, Bitcoin’s proof-of-work system ties its creation to energy and computing power, giving it a built-in scarcity and relative independence from political influence.
“Governments can print money, but they cannot print energy,” Musk said.
While Musk envisions a future where energy might serve as a more fundamental measure of value, he acknowledged that traditional money remains dominant today.
National currencies continue to govern commerce, wages, and savings, while cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin exist as alternative assets rather than replacements for everyday transactions.
Musk’s remarks provide a reminder of the philosophical underpinnings of Bitcoin, linking it to physics and energy rather than policy and government control.
Earlier today, the Bitcoin price plunged 8% to the mid-$84,000s early Monday, extending a two-month drawdown that has erased over 30% since October’s record highs.
The drop followed last week’s brief recovery above $92,500 after November lows near $81,000.
In Musk’s AI- and robotics-driven future, traditional money fades as labor allocation becomes obsolete, while energy—and energy-backed assets like Bitcoin—persist as core value. Tesla CEO Elon Musk outlined a vision in which traditional currency becomes obsolete as artificial intelligence and…
Elon Musk painted a future where money fades from everyday life, while energy-based value takes its place as the key measure of wealth and power.
Speaking on a recent podcast with Indian entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath, Musk said that he thinks “money disappears as a concept” eventually.
He called that idea “kind of strange,” but argued that in a future where “anyone can have anything,” people “no longer need money as a database for labor allocation.”
He linked that vision directly to advances in artificial intelligence and robotics. “If AI and robotics are big enough to satisfy all human needs then, then money is no longer… its relevance declines dramatically,” he said.
To ground the idea, Musk pointed to science fiction. He cited the Culture series books by Scottish author Iain Banks, and recommended that people read them.
JUST IN: Elon Musk says #Bitcoin is a fundamental currency based on energy
Energy Replaces Money In Musk’s Future Vision And Bitcoin Fits The Model
In that far future setting, he noted, “they don’t have money either, and everyone can pretty much have whatever they want.”
Even in such a post-scarcity world, Musk said that some forms of value still matter. There are “some fundamental currencies, if you will, that are physics-based,” he told Kamath, then shifted the conversation toward energy. “Energy is the true currency,” he said.
That line set up his argument for why Bitcoin fits this picture. “This is why I say Bitcoin is based on energy,” Musk continued.
The network’s design forces miners to spend real electricity and computation to secure the system, which in his view ties digital value to the physical world.
Musk Frames Energy As The Ultimate Store Of Power Outside Government Policy
Musk then drew a clear line between energy and political power. “You can’t legislate energy,” he said. “You can’t just, you know, pass a law and suddenly have a lot of energy.” He called it “very difficult to to generate energy, especially to harness energy in a useful way, to do useful work.”
“We probably will just have energy, power generation as the de facto currency,” he said. In that framing, whoever controls the most efficient and abundant energy sources effectively controls the strongest “currency.”
That idea resonates with Bitcoin’s proof-of-work model, which already converts electricity and hardware into verifiable digital scarcity. Supporters often argue that this link to real-world energy cost creates a monetary system that cannot be inflated by central banks or rewritten by politicians.
Regulators And Activists Still Clash Over Whether Bitcoin Hurts Or Helps Energy Systems
Musk’s remarks arrive while Bitcoin’s energy use remains one of the most contested issues in policy circles. Environmental critics worry about carbon footprints and grid strain, while advocates say mining can incentivize cleaner generation and better load balancing for power networks.
He did not set any timeline for a shift to an energy-based value regime, and his scenario assumes a level of AI and robotic abundance that is still speculative.
For now, national currencies and conventional payment rails continue to dominate trade, savings and salaries, while Bitcoin trades as an asset that doubles as a long-term bet on a different kind of monetary order.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX quietly shifted 1,163 BTC, worth about $105.23 million, into new wallets this week, leading to questions over whether the aerospace giant is preparing for a sale or simply reorganizing its reserves. Blockchain tracker Arkham Intelligence first spotted the transaction on November 27, noting that the bitcoins were moved from a long-dormant treasury wallet into a new address.
SpaceX’s Bitcoin Transfer: Is This Selling Pressure?
Data from Arkham Intelligence shows that SpaceX executed the $105.23 million transfer in a single large movement. Although the transfer was substantial, a quick look at SpaceX’s treasury behavior in recent months shows that the activity points to internal restructuring rather than liquidation. Still, the scale of the transaction has left investors asking whether this could be an early signal of selling pressure.
Intelligence data shows that the funds were pushed into a new wallet with no immediate ties to exchanges. This difference is important because transfers to exchanges often come with selling activity.
Instead, the pattern follows an earlier transaction in late October, when SpaceX moved 281 BTC into a newly created address without any subsequent liquidation. Interestingly, this 281 BTC transfer was preceded by a similar transfer of 1,215 BTC worth $133.68 million in October.
The consistency of these movements suggests a gradual upgrade or redistribution of cold-storage arrangements, something that major corporations tend to do periodically to maintain custody security. According to Lookonchain, the recent transfer of 1,163 BTC to the new address “bc1q4p” was possibly made to Coinbase Prime for custody.
SpaceX’s balance is substantial even after the recent movement, with roughly 6,095 BTC still under its control, an amount currently valued at $555.637 million and large enough to place the company among the biggest private corporate holders of Bitcoin.
Tesla, Musk’s other major enterprise, sits even higher on the leaderboard with 11,509 BTC valued at $1.05 billion, ranking it as the 17th largest publicly traded Bitcoin-holding company in the world.
Could SpaceX’s Movements Still Impact Market Sentiment?
Despite the absence of clear evidence of selling intent, large transfers tied to high-profile companies like SpaceX inevitably influence sentiment. Bitcoin had just regained the $91,000 region at the time of the transfer, and traders immediately questioned whether Musk’s company might be preparing to offload part of its holdings, especially given the company’s sell-off history during the 2022 bear market.
Bitcoin is still stabilizing after a price crash encouraged in part by Owen Gunden, one of the earliest high-profile holders, who unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of BTC and helped drag the price below $90,000 on November 20. However, the evidence behind SpaceX’s current transfer is still pointing to consolidation rather than liquidation.
The Department of Government Efficiency, the driving force behind the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce and executive branch spending, isn’t wrapping up operations sooner than expected, according to several administration officials.
Reuters published a story on Sunday claiming that DOGE no longer exists, about eight months ahead of the deadline set by President Donald Trump. The story drew strong reactions from Trump administration officials, who rejected claims that DOGE is ending before its final day on July 4, 2026.
A DOGE spokesperson told Federal News Network on Tuesday that DOGE and its longer-term, tech-aligned counterpart, the U.S. DOGE Service, both remain — and that the latter organization is moving forward with a full slate of modernization projects.
The spokesperson, in response to written questions, confirmed DOGE still exists as a temporary organization within the U.S. DOGE Service, and that Amy Gleason remains the acting administrator of USDS.
In addition, the spokesperson said the U.S. DOGE Service — a Trump-era rebranding of the U.S. Digital Service — is working on several cross-agency projects. The spokesperson said USDS is actively involved in these projects, but the agencies in charge of these projects oversee staffing and hiring. The list of projects shared with Federal News Network closely resembles the type of work that USDS was involved in before the Trump administration.
“The U.S. DOGE Service remains deeply engaged across government-modernizing critical systems, improving public services, and delivering fast, practical solutions where the country needs them most,” the spokesperson said.
Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor wrote on X that “DOGE may not have centralized leadership under USDS,” but the “principles of DOGE remain alive and well.”
Those principles, he added, include deregulation; eliminating fraud, waste and abuse; and reshaping the federal workforce.
Kupor wrote that DOGE “catalyzed these changes,” and that OPM and the Office of Management and Budget “will institutionalize them.”
It’s not clear that DOGE leadership ever set exact demands for its representatives scattered across multiple federal agencies. Current and former DOGE representatives publicly stated that DOGE leadership played a hands-off role in their day-to-day work, and that they identified primarily as employees of their agencies. Former DOGE employees said they rarely heard from Elon Musk, DOGE’s former de facto leader, once they completed their onboarding to join the Trump administration.
DOGE wrote on X that “President Trump was given a mandate by the American people to modernize the federal government and reduce waste, fraud and abuse,” and that it terminated 78 contracts worth $335 million last week.
The DOGE spokesperson said the U.S. DOGE Service is working on a project to use AI to process over 600,000 pieces of federal correspondence each month, and is working with the General Services Administration to advance “responsible AI governmentwide.”
Current U.S. DOGE Service projects include:
Supporting 18 million students by modernizing the FAFSA system and implementing major student loan and Pell Grant changes.
Improving access to benefits with a streamlined, public-option verification tool that helps states accelerate community engagement requirements for Medicaid and SNAP approvals.
Transforming the non-immigrant visa process to support Olympic and World Cup travel with a more reliable, adaptable digital platform.
Reducing delays for over 600,000 veterans each month through a modernized VA disability compensation application.
Building a modern National Provider Directory to speed Medicare provider enrollment and enable nationwide interoperability.
Launching new patient-facing apps and data access tools, first announced at the White House and rolling out beginning January 2026.
Digitizing the National Firearms Act process, replacing outdated paper systems.
Using AI responsibly to process over 600,000 pieces of federal correspondence monthly.
Strengthening Medicare’s digital experience with better security, fraud reporting, caregiver access and reduced paper burden.
Improving VA appointment management with integrated scheduling, check-ins, notifications and after-visit support.
Advancing responsible AI government-wide through partnership with GSA.
Rapid-response deployments for Customs and Border Protection, FEMA, Medicare claims modernization, FDA data consolidation.
Gleason said in September that agencies don’t have enough tech talent to deliver on the administration’s policy goals, and they would need to boost hiring
“We need to hire and empower great talent in government,” Gleason said on Sept. 4. “There’s not enough tech talent here. We need more of it.”
Under the Trump administration, federal employees have faced mass layoffs and incentives to leave government service. The Partnership for Public Service estimates that, as of October, more than 211,000 employees left the federal workforce this year — either voluntarily or involuntarily.
Gleason, who also serves as a strategic advisor for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said tech hiring is essential to help CMS “build modern services for the American people.” She said the agency, at the beginning of this year, had about 13 engineers managing thousands of contractors.
“If we could hire great talent for tech in the government, I think in five years, we can really transform a lot of these systems to be much more modern and user-friendly, and easy for citizens to engage with what they need,” Gleason said. “But we have to take advantage of hiring.”
FILE - Elon Musk flashes his T-shirt that reads "DOGE" to the media as he walks on South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
After Donald Trump curiously started referring to the Department of Government Efficiency exclusively in the past tense, an official finally confirmed Sunday that DOGE “doesn’t exist.”
Talking to Reuters, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor confirmed that DOGE—a government agency notoriously created by Elon Musk to rapidly and dramatically slash government agencies—was terminated more than eight months early. This may have come as a surprise to whoever runs the DOGE account on X, which continued posting up until two days before the Reuters report was published.
As Kupor explained, a “centralized agency” was no longer necessary, since OPM had “taken over many of DOGE’s functions” after Musk left the agency last May. Around that time, DOGE staffers were embedded at various agencies, where they could ostensibly better coordinate with leadership on proposed cuts to staffing and funding.
LoginTechCrunch
All News – Federal News Network
Gizmodo
