The crypto community is once again buzzing about Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings, as Arkham Intelligence, a cryptocurrency data analytics platform, has added a new feature to its dashboard that tracks Tesla’s Bitcoin wallet. As of now, Tesla’s wallet contains approximately 11,509 BTC, which is 1,789 BTC more than what was reported in its last earnings report.
It’s worth noting that Tesla made headlines earlier this year when it purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in February 2021, during the peak of the bull run. At the time, the company also announced its plans to accept Bitcoin payments for its cars. However, this adoption of Bitcoin was short-lived, as Tesla sold about 10% of its holdings in March 2021. In the second quarter of 2022, the electric car maker further sold around 75% of its Bitcoin reserves.
Here is a timeline of Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings and sales:
– February 2021: Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin.
– March 2021: Tesla sold 4,320 BTC.
– 2022: Tesla sold 29,160 BTC.
– 2023: There was no change in the balance of 9,720 BTC.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has had a love/hate relationship with Bitcoin. Initially, he expressed optimism about BTC, even announcing plans for Tesla to store its own Bitcoin using on-chain wallets. However, within a few weeks, Musk changed his stance due to environmental concerns regarding Bitcoin mining and decided not to accept BTC as payment for Tesla cars.
Speculation has arisen among users about whether Tesla has started repurchasing Bitcoin or if the recent change in figures is due to an accounting error. Some users suggest that the company may have resumed buying BTC after the last earnings call and could report the newly purchased BTC in its next call. However, neither Tesla nor Musk have commented on these speculations.
In addition to Tesla, Musk’s other company, SpaceX, also holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet. This decision was influenced by Michael Saylor, the co-founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy, who convinced Musk to add Bitcoin to his company’s balance sheet. MicroStrategy currently holds 193,000 BTC, making it the largest institutional holder of BTC in the world.