Elon Musk Says Most Cryptocurrencies Are 'Scams,' While Some Have 'Merit' During OpenAI Trial: Report

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Elon Musk said most cryptocurrencies are “scams” during his Thursday testimony in the OpenAI trial, according to a reporter covering the case.

Musk’s Response To Initial Coin Offering Question

Mike Isaac, a tech reporter from The New York Times, quoted Musk explaining cryptocurrency to the jury in the Federal Courthouse in downtown Oakland.

“Some of them have merit, but most of them are scams,” Musk was quoted as saying.

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The comment was in response to a question about OpenAI’s reported plans to raise funds through an initial coin offering—a cryptocurrency-based fundraising—in 2018, Issac said.

Elon Musk explaining what cryptocurrency is to the jury: “Some of them have merit, but most of them are scams.”

this is responding to early emails where OpenAI discussed holding an ICO, or initial coin offering, in order to fund the company.

(back then, ICOs were en vogue…)

— rat king 🐀 (@MikeIsaac) April 29, 2026

Benzinga couldn’t independently verify Musk’s statements. Tesla, SpaceX and xAI didn’t immediately return requests to confirm.

Musk’s Hot And Cold Crypto Relationship

Musk’s views on cryptocurrency have been a topic of discussion for a while. During a Joe Rogan podcast in 2025, he compared investing in meme coins to playing in a casino, suggesting that expecting to win in either case is foolish. He also warned against pouring life savings into such assets.

But this contrasts with his fondness for Dogecoin and the Bitcoin investments of his mobility giant, Tesla.

Tesla holds roughly $887 million in Bitcoin, per on-chain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. As for DOGE, Musk said in February that his space technology company, SpaceX, would likely put the memecoin “on the moon” in 2026.

The OpenAI Lawsuit

Musk has sued OpenAI for $150 billion in damages, alleging that co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman betrayed the start-up’s founding non-profit mission by turning the organization into a for-profit entity.

Musk invested in the company before quitting in 2018 due to a disagreement over its direction.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock.com

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Elon Musk Says Most Cryptocurrencies Are ‘Scams,’ While Some Have ‘Merit’ During OpenAI Trial: Report

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