Following the addition of Tesla’s Bitcoin wallet tracking feature to its dashboard, bitcoin data analytics platform Arkham Intelligence’s Bitcoin holdings have once again become a topic of conversation in the community. At the time of writing, Tesla had 1,789 more Bitcoin in its wallet—11,509—than it had disclosed in its most recent earnings report, which was 9,720 Bitcoin.
In February 2021, at the height of the previous bull run, Elon Musk’s Tesla purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and declared that it would start taking Bitcoin payments for its vehicles. Nevertheless, the company’s adoption of Bitcoin BTC proved fleeting, as it sold off roughly 10% of its assets in March 2021. The manufacturer of electric cars sold around 75% of its Bitcoin reserves in the second quarter of 2022.
A Timeline of Tesla’s Purchases and Sales of Bitcoin
Purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in February 2021.
March 2021: 4,320 BTC was sold
2022: 29,160 Bitcoin sold
2023: The 9,720 BTC balance remained unchanged.
Musk’s feelings about Bitcoin have been mixed. He announced plans for Tesla to use on-chain wallets to hold its own Bitcoin in 2021, expressing optimism about the cryptocurrency. Shortly after, though, Musk abandoned his intentions to exchange Bitcoin for Tesla vehicles, citing environmental issues related to Bitcoin mining.
A user on X asked if Tesla had begun buying back Bitcoin or if there had been an accounting error that resulted in the recent fluctuations in the numbers. Another person made the suggestion that the business may have begun purchasing Bitcoin following the most recent earnings conference and might disclose the acquisition in the following call. Regarding Tesla’s purchase of Bitcoin, neither Musk nor Tesla have yet to respond.
In addition to Tesla, Musk is the owner of SpaceX, another business he founded. Michael Saylor, the executive chairman and co-founder of MicroStrategy, persuaded Musk to include Bitcoin on SpaceX’s financial sheet. MicroStrategy is the world’s largest institutional Bitcoin holder, at 193,000 BTC.
Saylor contended on March 1 during a panel discussion at the Bitcoin Atlantis conference that exchange-traded funds and artificial intelligence will bring about a ten-year “gold rush” for Bitcoin.
