Tesla Holds $780M in Bitcoin Despite Recent Transfers: Arkham

Highlights:

• Tesla still owns its entire $780 million Bitcoin stash, says Arkham Intelligence.
• On October 15, Tesla moved Bitcoin for the first time since 2022.
• Tesla is the fourth-largest public corporate holder of Bitcoin.

According to Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, Tesla, the electric vehicle giant led by Elon Musk, still owns its entire Bitcoin stash worth $780 million. Despite moving all the funds to unidentified wallets last week, the company retains ownership.

Arkham wrote:

“We believe that the Tesla wallet movements that we reported on last week were wallet rotations with the Bitcoin still owned by Tesla.” 

Tesla’s Bitcoin movement comes as BTC struggles to maintain its upward trend. Recently, Bitcoin briefly reclaimed the $69,000 level but dropped to $67,000 at press time.

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

Tesla Moves All BTC Holdings to Unknown Wallets After Two Years

Tesla moved its Bitcoin on October 15 for the first time since 2022. This was the first interaction with its wallets after selling most of its holdings, and the move sparked speculation that Tesla might be preparing to sell more Bitcoin. 

Tesla divided its 11,509 Bitcoin into seven wallets, each holding between 1,100 and 2,200 BTC, according to Arkham. The largest portions, valued at $142.2 million and $128.1 million, were sent to wallet addresses “1Fnhp” and “1LERL,” respectively. “Some have speculated that this is movement to a custodian, for example to secure a loan against the BTC,” the analytics firm added. Data shows that the wallets have remained inactive since Oct. 15. The transfers haven’t impacted Bitcoin’s price.

In February 2021, Tesla invested around $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, holding up to 43,000 BTC at its peak, according to BitcoinTreasuries. Currently, Tesla ranks as the fourth-largest public corporate Bitcoin holder, behind MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital, and Riot Platforms.

In 2021, CEO Elon Musk briefly accepted Bitcoin as payment for Tesla vehicles. However, he reversed this decision due to environmental concerns. Musk later said Tesla would resume BTC payments when 55% of the network’s energy is from renewable sources.

Elon Musk’s ‘Buy Bitcoin’ Tweet Turns 6, Marking 1000% BTC Price Surge

Musk’s famous “Bitcoin” post on X is now six years old. Since then, Bitcoin’s price has increased by about 1,000%. This was before he purchased the social media platform. Musk hasn’t said much about Bitcoin lately, but he remains a favorite in the crypto community, especially because of his support for Dogecoin (DOGE).

Wanna buy some Bitcoin? 😉😉 pic.twitter.com/9ZbBJ5fuVq

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 22, 2018

Despite Musk’s concerns about Bitcoin, it’s notable that his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, hold significant amounts of the cryptocurrency. Data shows that SpaceX still has 8,285 BTC, worth $558 million, in its public wallet.

Elon Musk’s fondness for Dogecoin has boosted the meme coin’s popularity. His indirect support helped drive the massive rally in Dogecoin’s price during the 2021 bull run, as he mentioned the coin multiple times. 

Musk might play a big role in the next Dogecoin bull run. This could happen with his proposed Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E) under the Donald Trump administration. The similarity between ‘D.O.G.E’ and Dogecoin’s ticker helped the meme coin rally last week, reaching its highest level since late July after Musk mentioned ‘D.O.G.E’ at a Pennsylvania town hall meeting.