Bitcoin convert Elon Musk tweeted on Tuesday about a potential future crypto for Mars called MarsCoin — and inadvertently pumped the price of a tiny cryptocurrency by over 2,000%.
The thing is, MarsCoin already exists. It’s a self-described “grassroots effort to lift humanity up” run by big fans of the Mars Society.
On Tuesday morning — just before Musk’s tweet at 16:09 UTC — MarsCoin was worth just $2.3 million.
With a market value so low, any amount of buying volume had the potential to send its price skyrocketing.
- Musk tweeted “There’ will definitely be a MarsCoin!” at 16:09 UTC.
- Volume increased straight away, and within two hours MarsCoin’s jumped 2,100% — from $0.11 to $2.50.
- This briefly valued the tiny altcoin at nearly $71 million.
By 19:15 UTC, MarsCoin had dropped below $0.13, representing a 94% fall from its Musk-inspired record high in under an hour.
MarsCoin now sits at $0.48, up more than 330% since before Musk’s tweet.
MarsCoin, a fundraiser for Earth
The project’s FAQ explains the crypto is intended to support an open-source network powered by a non-profit effort it says would run analogous to the Ethereum Foundation, but for MarsCoin.
And while technical details are scarce, the coin appears to be a fork of Litecoin (which is a fork of Bitcoin).
In any case, buying it should be viewed as a donation to Earth’s quest to colonize Mars, or as the website puts it: “decentralize humanity.”
It’s likely Musk had no idea that MarsCoin has apparently existed since 2014, let alone trades on three tiny exchanges.
[Read more: We figured out how much power Elon Musk holds over Dogecoin]
Indeed, this seems to be the first instance of Musk accidentally pumping the price of a cryptocurrency.
And all because he replied to a tweet from Binance’s chief exec clearly intended to fish for engagement. Go figure.