Tesla, the electric vehicle giant, has moved a substantial portion of its Bitcoin holdings, amounting to 11,500 BTC (worth approximately $769 million) to multiple unidentified wallets. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, the transfers began on October 15, 2024, at around 20:41 UTC. This move comes after over two years of dormancy, with the last Bitcoin movement from Tesla dating back to June 2022.
The sudden transfer has raised questions within the crypto community. While some speculate that Tesla might be preparing to sell part of its Bitcoin stash, others believe the company may be moving its holdings to take direct custody of the coins. Analysts noted that the use of legacy address formats, which are not typically employed by exchanges, indicates that Tesla might not be selling the funds but rather securing them.
The recipient wallets remain unidentified, and Tesla has yet to make any official statements on the matter. Market watchers are eager to see if Tesla’s upcoming Q3 earnings report on October 23 will shed more light on the decision behind these transactions.
Tesla’s History with Bitcoin
This move marks the first time Tesla has moved its Bitcoin holdings since June 2022 when it sold 29,160 BTC at an average price of $20,000 per coin, representing the company's largest Bitcoin sale to date. Tesla initially invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in February 2021, and shortly after, the firm began accepting Bitcoin payments for its vehicles. However, the company halted this payment option in May 2021 due to environmental concerns surrounding Bitcoin mining and its heavy reliance on fossil fuels.
Tesla remains one of the top corporate holders of Bitcoin, following companies like MicroStrategy and Galaxy Digital. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price remains stable at just under $67,000 despite the large transfer, showing no immediate market reaction.
