According to CoinDesk, Tesla, one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin, has transferred its entire $760 million worth of the cryptocurrency to unknown wallets. This move has sparked speculation that the electric car manufacturer might be selling its bitcoin holdings.
Crypto data firm Arkham Intelligence reported that wallets associated with Tesla began moving funds to unknown wallets on Tuesday. Tesla is currently the fourth-largest holder of bitcoin among publicly traded U.S. companies, following MicroStrategy, Marathon Holdings, and Riot Platforms, according to BitcoinTreasuries data.
Tesla initially purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in February 2021 but has since sold most of its holdings. As of March, when Arkham Intelligence added Tesla's bitcoin wallet tracking feature to its dashboard, the company held approximately 11,509 bitcoin, valued at around $770 million.
Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, had previously announced plans to accept bitcoin payments for Tesla vehicles. However, these plans were abandoned due to environmental concerns. While some of Musk's companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, hold bitcoin on their balance sheets, it remains unclear how much Musk personally believes in the cryptocurrency. In a July interview broadcast on YouTube, Musk mentioned that he sees some merit in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies but expressed a particular fondness for dogecoin.
