Tesla Did Not Sell Its 11,509 Bitcoin, On-Chain Data Reveals

by

As a seasoned researcher with over two decades of experience in the financial markets, I have witnessed the rise and fall of countless cryptocurrencies, and the dynamic relationship between traditional companies and digital assets. Tesla’s foray into Bitcoin has been nothing short of fascinating to watch.

It appears from the on-chain information that Tesla Inc. has kept all of its Bitcoin holdings, thereby contradicting recent rumors suggesting a possible sale. Previously, Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analysis firm, disclosed that Tesla moved its entire 11,509 Bitcoin hoard, now worth over $776 million, to fresh, unidentified digital wallets last week.

Following a significant shift in operations, there’s been much discussion about whether Elon Musk’s company, Tesla, is selling off its Bitcoin holdings once more. Yet, recent investigations by Arkham Intelligence have revealed a different picture. Instead of parting ways with Bitcoin, it appears that the transactions were actually internal transfers, and Tesla still maintains ownership of its Bitcoin assets.

Tesla Retains All 11,509 Bitcoin

In a recent statement about X, Arkham explained: “Our analysis indicates that the transactions we mentioned last week involving Tesla’s Bitcoin wallet were simply rearrangements within the wallet itself, not a sale or transfer of ownership. The total amount of 11,509 Bitcoins owned by Tesla, currently valued at approximately $776.9 million, was moved to new digital wallets.

According to the report from Arkham, sent via X, it was discovered that the Bitcoins were divided among seven different wallets. Each of these wallets received trial transactions, and all except one contain a multiple of Bitcoin, which seems to indicate a calculated redistribution rather than liquidation, as each round number suggests.

Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings are currently stored in the following wallet addresses:

Arkham stated: “It’s been suggested that this could be a move to a guardian, such as taking out a loan using the BTC as collateral.” This speculation aligns with the practice of companies using cryptocurrency assets to obtain liquidity, without having to sell them directly.

It’s quite interesting that these events are happening around the same time. Today, October 23, 2024, Tesla is set to release its next financial report after market hours (23:30 CEST). This upcoming conference call might offer additional clarity about Tesla’s Bitcoin strategy and the reasons behind their recent wallet transactions.

6 years ago today, October 22nd, marked the anniversary of Elon Musk publicly endorsing Bitcoin. Back in 2018, the price of a single Bitcoin was only $6,400. Intriguingly, on this same day, Musk teased his followers by posting an image and writing “Fancy some Bitcoin?” Since then, the value of Bitcoin has skyrocketed over 1,000%.

Elon Musk telling you to buy #Bitcoin at $6,000, exactly 6 years ago.

Up 1,000% ever since

— The Bitcoin Historian (@pete_rizzo_) October 22, 2024

Tesla’s connection with Bitcoin has been flexible. In February 2021, it made waves by buying approximately $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, a fact revealed in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This action placed Tesla among the top corporate owners of Bitcoin.

In Q2 of 2022, Tesla sold about 75% of its Bitcoin holdings for fiat money. This move was due to liquidity issues caused by COVID-19 lockdowns in China. The transaction was worth around $936 million, according to the company’s quarterly financial report.

At press time, BTC traded at $67,083.

Read More

2024-10-23 09:27