Home Tesla likely retains $780M in Bitcoin despite wallet transfers, Arkham reports

Tesla likely retains $780M in Bitcoin despite wallet transfers, Arkham reports

Tesla likely still holds its entire Bitcoin reserve, valued at $780 million, according to a blockchain analytics firm, despite moving all the funds to unidentified wallets on October 15.

Arkham Intelligence reported that the electric car manufacturer maintains ownership of 11,509 Bitcoin, adding: “We believe that the Tesla wallet movements that we reported last week were wallet rotations with the Bitcoin still owned by Tesla.”

Arkham reported the Bitcoin had not been moved for two years prior to last Tuesday. The coins were put into seven new wallets believed to be controlled by the company.

Tesla reportedly divided its 11,509 Bitcoin into seven wallets on October 15, each holding between 1,100 and 2,200 BTC. The largest transfers went to wallet addresses “1Fnhp” and “1LERL,” receiving $142.2 million and $128.1 million worth of Bitcoin, respectively.

Elon Musk and Tesla’s relationship with Bitcoin

Tesla initially invested in Bitcoin in 2021 with a $1.5 billion purchase. However, after billionaire Elon Musk scaled back his support, the company sold the majority of its holdings at a loss. Musk briefly accepted Bitcoin as a payment for the company’s vehicles in March 2021 but reversed the decision a few weeks later. At the time, he had concerns over how bad mining Bitcoin was for the environment, and the company stopped accepting Bitcoin payments for its cars as a result.

The Tesla CEO’s aerospace firm, SpaceX, still holds 8,285 Bitcoin worth $560 million, the seventh-largest Bitcoin holdings by a private firm.

If Arkham’s analysis is accurate, Musk’s company remains the fourth-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, behind business intelligence firm MicroStrategy and Bitcoin mining companies Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.

In August, ReadWrite reported that Musk suggested a collapse of the United States dollar is imminent, while acknowledging the merits of crypto. He said: “I do think there’s some merit in bitcoin, and maybe some other crypto. […] I’ve sort of got a soft spot for dogecoin because I like dogs and memes.”

Featured image: Midjourney

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Suswati Basu
Tech journalist

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. With 18 years of experience in the media industry, Suswati has held significant roles such as head of audience and deputy editor for NationalWorld news, digital editor for Channel 4 News and ITV News. She has also contributed to the Guardian and received training at the BBC As an audience, trends, and SEO specialist, she has participated in panel events alongside Google. Her…

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