According to Arkham Intelligence, Elon Musk’s Tesla has relocated nearly its entire reserve of 11,500 BTC, which is valued at approximately $760 million.
On October 15, 26 transactions were made to various wallet addresses, as reported by the firm. The Tesla Bitcoin holdings had been inactive for two years prior to these recent movements.
Arkham’s platform indicates that the wallet balance has been reduced to zero.
TESLA JUST MOVED ANOTHER $260M BTC
TOTAL MOVED: $760M pic.twitter.com/ukAcHW1EZC
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) October 15, 2024
What Is Tesla Planning?
There has been considerable speculation on crypto social media, prompting significant volatility in Bitcoin prices about 12 hours ago. Some commenters speculated that the company was taking direct custody of its Bitcoin, while others raised concerns about a possible liquidation. Additionally, there were musings that Tesla might be preparing to resume accepting Bitcoin payments. Some even humorously suggested that Elon Musk was investing in Trump-themed meme coins.
Pierre Rochard, vice president of research at Riot Platforms, suggested that Musk might use the Bitcoin as collateral for borrowing, though this was countered by pointing out that the company currently has ample cash reserves.
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 known as ‘Cold Blooded Shiller’ remarked:
“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, Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, stated that it remains uncertain whether the transactions were merely internal transfers or actual selling, 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 ranks as the fourth largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, following MicroStrategy (holding 252,220 BTC), Marathon Digital (26,842 BTC), and Riot Platforms (10,427 BTC).
The company first ventured into Bitcoin purchases in February 2021, acquiring $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency at that point.
Tesla’s stock (TSLA) experienced slight volatility during after-hours trading but stabilized around $220, consistent with its trading range for the week.
BTC Price Movement
Bitcoin’s volatility returned just prior to Arkham’s report on Tesla’s transactions. The price surged to a ten-week high of $67,800 before tumbling below $65,000. As of this writing, it has rebounded to over $67,000.
beep! bitcoin vol returns to life. pic.twitter.com/PmQY55lpt7
— Adam Back (@adam3us) October 15, 2024
Bitcoin is nearing a significant psychological threshold, approaching its former all-time high of $69,000 set during the 2021 bull market.
Image Source: mundissima / Shutterstock
