Elon Musk’s Tesla has moved almost its entire stash of 11,500 BTC worth around $760 million, according to Arkham Intelligence.
There were 26 transactions in total on Oct. 15 to various w9allet addresses, it revealed. The Tesla holdings had been dormant for two years up until these latest transactions.
The wallet balance is now zero, according to Arkham’s platform.
TESLA JUST MOVED ANOTHER $260M BTC
TOTAL MOVED: $760M pic.twitter.com/ukAcHW1EZC
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) October 15, 2024
What Is Tesla Up to?
There has been a lot of speculation on crypto social media and Bitcoin prices became very volatile around 12 hours ago. Some suggested that the firm was taking direct custody of its BTC, while others were spreading FUD about a potential liquidation. There was also speculation that Tesla was preparing to accept Bitcoin payments again. There were even comical suggestions that Elon Musk was rotating into Trump meme coins.
Riot Platforms research vice president Pierre Rochard said that Musk was going to use the BTC as collateral to borrow. However, it was quickly pointed out that the company was cash-flush.
I’m guessing @elonmusk is going to use the BTC as collateral to borrow pic.twitter.com/EKiqJBeY5T
— Pierre Rochard (@BitcoinPierre) October 16, 2024
Analyst and trader ‘Cold Blooded Shiller’ quipped:
“If Tesla moving BTC is enough to force you out of position … my brothers in Christ, this bull run is not the one you’re going to make it in.”
Meanwhile, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said that it was still unclear whether it was internal shuffling or selling before adding:
“Even if they sold, the impact would be slightly more than half of the German government’s.”
Tesla moved #Bitcoin to other wallets.
It’s still unclear if it’s internal shuffling or selling.
Even if they sold, the impact would be slightly more than half of the German govt’s. Their realized profit was $816M, while Tesla’s is $515M as of today. pic.twitter.com/tbIphukzkw
— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) October 16, 2024
According to BitcoinTreasuries, Tesla is the fourth largest corporate holder of Bitcoin behind MicroStrategy, which holds 252,220 BTC; Marathon Digital (26,842 BTC); and Riot Platforms (10,427 BTC).
The firm first purchased BTC in February 2021, buying $1.5 billion worth of the digital asset at the time.
There was a little volatility in company stock (TSLA) during after-hours trading but it remained around $220 where it has been trading this week.
BTC Price Reaction
Bitcoin volatility returned just before Arkham reported the Tesla movements. The asset spiked to a ten-week high of $67,800 before sharply tanking below $65,000. It has since recovered to trade at just above $67,000 at the time of writing.
beep! bitcoin vol returns to life. pic.twitter.com/PmQY55lpt7
— Adam Back (@adam3us) October 15, 2024
Bitcoin is currently approaching a key psychological level, which is its previous all-time high of $69,000 from the 2021 bull market cycle.
