- Tesla just sent nearly all its Bitcoins (valued at $769M) to unknown wallets in 26 transactions. Is a sellout coming?
- The company bought $1.5B worth of Bitcoins in 2021 and sold 75% of them at a loss in 2022. After a 91% increase in the value of Bitcoin, Elon Musk might want to cash in on the profit.
- As the fourth-largest Bitcoin holder, Tesla’s potential sellout could significantly impact the market and fuel a bearish move, sending $BTC to lower levels.
Eleven hours ago, Tesla moved 11,508.992 Bitcoins (worth $769M) to unidentified wallets. Now, only $8.06 worth of $BTC is left in Tesla’s wallet.
What prompted the company to do this? Is it selling Bitcoins, like it did in 2022?
Most importantly, how will a sellout impact the market, considering Tesla is the fourth-largest Bitcoin holder?
Let’s dig deeper into Tesla’s Bitcoin move and explore the potential consequences.
Tesla’s 11,509 Bitcoins Have Moved – What’s Happening?
According to Arkham Intelligence, Tesla moved almost 100% of its Bitcoins (11,508.992 out of the estimated 11,509) to unknown wallets eleven hours ago.
The Bitcoins were sent in 26 transactions, with individual values between $3 and $102.36M. Clearly, the first few transactions were tests to double-check the validity of the addresses.
At this point, Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings are virtually zero. It’s the first time the company has touched its $BTC wallets since 2022, when it sold them at a loss.
For context, Tesla bought $1.5B Bitcoins in February 2021, when the crypto traded between $29K and $40K. So, the average buying price should have been $35K.
The company sold 75% of its $BTC holdings in early 2022. At a loss, no less. Only 11,509 $BTC were left, and those are the Bitcoins that just left its wallets eleven hours ago.
Will We See Another Bitcoin Dump?
The most reasonable assumption is that Tesla is planning a massive sellout. Another possibility is that the old wallets were compromised, forcing the company to move the assets elsewhere.
But that’s a bit stretched. Wallet compromises don’t typically allow the holder the luxury of time, which could make only the sellout scenario viable.
As the fourth-largest Bitcoin holder, Tesla has significant pull in the market. A dump of this magnitude could surely fuel a bearish move.
On the other hand, a sellout doesn’t seem in line with Elon Musk’s pro-crypto attitude. His support for Donald Trump in the context of the former president’s pro-crypto stance is telling.
However, Bitcoin has grown by ~91% since Tesla bought it, so Musk might finally want to cash out his investment.
Summary – To Sell or Not to Sell $769M Bitcoins?
Our educated guess is that Tesla will sell the Bitcoins to turn a profit. They might not sell everything, and it might not happen now, but ‘soon’ is a reasonable assumption.
It’ll be interesting to see how a potential sellout will impact Donald Trump’s favor with the crypto community. After all, his biggest supporter selling all his Bitcoins isn’t exactly pro-crypto.
References
- Tesla Bitcoin Holdings (Arkham Intelligence)
- List of the Largest Bitcoin Holders (Bitcoin Treasuries)
