Bitcoin dips after Elon Musk tweets broken-heart emoji

His Twitter account has affected other parts of the market -- Samsung Publishing Co., a shareholder in the producer of the "Baby Shark" viral YouTube song, surged this week after Musk tweeted about the jingle.

Bitcoin is about $27,000 shy of its mid-April record of almost $65,000. While it slipped today, the decline was more modest than past episodes of Musk-led volatility.

The biggest believers in crypto argue the token is just consolidating before a run higher to new records. But Musk’s spotlight on environmental risks -- and the way his tweets drive swings in prices - have hurt the narrative that the virtual currency is bound to win more mainstream adoption over time.

After suspending Bitcoin payments to Tesla, Musk later said that the company hadn’t sold any of its holdings of the digital token - clarifying another of his tweets that raised questions about whether Tesla might have done so.

The repeated posts have fuelled speculation over just why the electric-car pioneer is issuing crypto missives.

Tesla in February disclosed a $1.5 billion Bitcoin investment. In April, the firm’s earnings report showed it had sold 10% of its Bitcoin holdings.

Despite May’s rout, Bitcoin is up 285% over the past year, while second-ranked Ether is up more than 1,000%. The Bloomberg crypto gauge has climbed about sixfold.