Tesla transfers its Bitcoin holdings after 2 years of dormancy

Tesla, the world’s most valuable car marker transferred its Bitcoin holdings to various anonymous accounts after two years of dormancy.

According to Arkham Intelligence data, Tesla-labeled wallets began moving funds on October 15, following several test transactions for tiny sums of Bitcoin. Subsequently, 11,500 Bitcoins valued at over $769 million were dispersed over seven wallets.

Tesla last traded Bitcoin in June 2022, when it sold 29,160 coins at an average price of $20,000 per, which remains the company’s largest transaction. Previously, the business offloaded 4,320 BTC each month after purchasing $1.5 billion of the flagship cryptocurrency in February 2021.
Tesla was the fourth-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin after business analytics firm MicroStrategy, Bitcoin miners Galaxy Digital, and Riot platforms, according to Bitbo data.

Tesla made no official comment about whether it intends to sell its assets, and the ownership of the recipient wallets was unknown. Tesla’s next Q3 earnings report, set for October 23, is expected to provide insight on the recent move.

On X, one observer speculated that the move was not a sale, but rather an attempt by Tesla to gain direct control of the currency. They remarked that this could herald the reactivation of Bitcoin payments, citing the usage of a legacy address format normally not utilized by exchanges for short-term transactions as a major clue.

At the time, Musk stated that the move was intended to demonstrate how simple it was to liquidate Bitcoin without significantly affecting the market.

Soon after, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that the company would accept Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles. However, just months later, in May 2021, the NASDAQ-listed business discontinued the payment option due to rising worries about the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining, including the heavy reliance on fossil fuels, such as coal, to power the mining operations.