JK Rowling jokingly tweeted that she was 'trolling Bitcoin' after Elon Musk tried to explain the cryptocurrency to her

Rachel E. Greenspan

May 18, 2020, 21:25 IST

JK Rowling jokingly tweeted that she was 'trolling Bitcoin' after Elon Musk tried to explain the cryptocurrency to her

J.K. Rowling arrives at an event on December 12, 2019 in New York City.Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

JK Rowling denied rumors that she was joining the Bitcoin cryptocurrency community after a Twitter exchange involving Elon Musk.
The author joked that she was actually "trolling Bitcoin" to boost her holdings in Ethereum, another blockchain-based cryptocurrency. "This is also a joke," she said in a subsequent tweet.
The rumors of her interest in cryptocurrency began when she asked someone on Twitter to explain Bitcoin to her on May 15.
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After JK Rowling tweeted to inquire about Bitcoin, the blockchain industry welcomed her with open arms. But the "Harry Potter" author confirmed she had only been trolling muggles.

In a tweet on May 18, Rowling said that she's "not joining the Bitcoin community," but joked that she was actually "trolling Bitcoin" to boost her holdings in Ethereum, another blockchain-based cryptocurrency. Rowling added a subsequent clarification that she was actually just kidding.

—J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 18, 2020

Talk of Rowling's interest in cryptocurrency began when she tweeted on May 15 asking someone to explain Bitcoin to her. Rowling got more than she bargained for, as hundreds of cryptocurrency obsessives sought to teach her about the digital financial asset.

Elon Musk even participated in the dialogue, explaining to the author his opinion that central banks (like the Federal Reserve) made Bitcoin "look solid by comparison," though he added that he owns "0.25 Bitcoins."