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.”
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: 𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗟𝗔 𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗢𝗜𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗦
We believe that the Tesla wallet movements that we reported on last week were wallet rotations with the Bitcoin still owned by Tesla.
Tesla moved their entire balance of 11,509 BTC ($776.9M) to new wallets. pic.twitter.com/aWeHrwjo22
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) October 22, 2024
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.
The Bitcoin has been split between 7 wallets holding 1100 and 2200 BTC. All holding wallets received test transactions and all but one hold a round number of BTC.
Tesla’s BTC is currently held at:
1Fnhp – 2109.3 BTC ($142.2M)
1LERL – 1900 BTC ($128.1M)
1D6Vh – 1800 BTC ($121.3M)… pic.twitter.com/I5uaVS2nFz— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) October 22, 2024
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