Tesla has moved $765 million worth of Bitcoin to unknown wallets, raising speculation about the company's future Bitcoin strategy while no immediate plans to sell are apparent.
Tesla, the electric car manufacturer led by Elon Musk, has moved the majority of its Bitcoin holdings—worth approximately $765 million—into new, unidentified wallets. The movement of the funds, which had been inactive for two years, was detected on Tuesday by blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence.
Tesla has moved $760 million worth of #Bitcoin today. pic.twitter.com/2TdEHUqTFp
— TFTC (@TFTC21) October 15, 2024
According to Arkham’s analysis, Tesla transferred all but $6 worth of Bitcoin from its known wallets to new addresses, which are not linked to any cryptocurrency exchanges. This suggests that, at least for the time being, there is no indication that Tesla is selling its Bitcoin holdings. The purpose of the wallet transfers remains unclear, and Tesla has not yet issued a public statement.
Tesla originally made headlines in 2021 when it disclosed a purchase of $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, which marked one of the largest investments in Bitcoin by a major corporation. Shortly after, Tesla sold 10% of its Bitcoin holdings during the first quarter of that year, then sold another 75% of the remaining Bitcoin in July 2022. At the time of the 2022 sale, Bitcoin’s value had dropped significantly from its peak of $69,000 in November 2021 to around $24,000. Tesla cited concerns over liquidity due to ongoing uncertainty regarding COVID-19 lockdowns in China as a reason for selling its Bitcoin holdings.
Despite the sales, Tesla retained a portion of its Bitcoin, which has appreciated in value as Bitcoin has now surged to around $66,500.
In 2021, the company briefly accepted Bitcoin as a payment method for its vehicles but halted the option just two months later. Musk stated that the pause was due to concerns over the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining. He also suggested that Tesla might reconsider accepting Bitcoin in the future if Bitcoin mining becomes more reliant on sustainable energy sources, but no further developments have been announced regarding this.
As of now, it is uncertain what Tesla's future plans are for its remaining Bitcoin. While the transfer does not directly suggest an impending sale, the movement of such a large amount of Bitcoin by a prominent company is significant and could have implications for the broader market.
