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BTC Evolution of Tesla's Bitcoin holdings: from huge purchases to long-term holdings
According to Arkham's on-chain data analysis, Tesla purchased 43,770 bitcoins in February 2021 at a price of approximately US$1.5 billion. Later that year, Tesla sold 4,670 bitcoins for a profit of approximately $260.2 million. By the collapse of the LUNA ecosystem in 2022, Tesla had transferred 30,690 bitcoins to the Coinbase platform, causing its bitcoin holdings to drop significantly to a level of approximately 8,430.
Tesla retained its remaining Bitcoin assets despite market turmoil such as the FTX crash. Current estimates show that the value of Bitcoin jointly held by Tesla and its affiliate SpaceX is approximately $1.3 billion. After a sharp correction in the market in 2022, Tesla actually held approximately 11,500 bitcoins, and this number has remained basically stable since mid-2022.
US$1.5 billion Bitcoin strategic purchase
On February 1, 2021, Tesla purchased 43,770 bitcoins at an average price of approximately US$34,270. The move, led by Elon Musk, aims to find more flexible ways to allocate the company's cash reserves. As the price of Bitcoin rose rapidly, the investment increased rapidly. In just two weeks, the market value of Bitcoin held by Tesla exceeded US$2 billion; three weeks later, it reached a high of approximately US$2.5 billion.
However, during the period from March to April 2021, Tesla successively sold 4,670 bitcoins, cashing in approximately US$260.2 million, making approximately US$100.2 million in profits. Despite this, Tesla will continue to hold nearly 40,000 bitcoins for the rest of 2021. When Bitcoin peaked on November 7, this position brought in an additional paper profit of approximately $1.5 billion.
The LUNA crash reshapes the structure of positions
The next major turning point in Tesla's holdings came during the Terra ecosystem collapse in May 2022. Faced with a sharp drop in Bitcoin prices, Tesla transferred 30,690 bitcoins to the Coinbase platform. Arkham's research shows that Tesla's move is intended to sell most of the transferred bitcoins.
This operation reduced Tesla's Bitcoin holdings to approximately 8,430, which was worth approximately US$250 million at the time. However, June online activity data suggests that Tesla may have repurchased some bitcoins from Coinbase. In addition, there is also the possibility that some of the transferred bitcoins have not entered the secondary market for trading. Since then, Tesla's position has stabilized at around 11,500 positions and remains so far.
Stick with Bitcoin to survive the FTX crisis
During the FTX crash in the second half of 2022, Tesla did not sell additional Bitcoin. During this period, bitcoin prices fell again by about 50%, causing Tesla to temporarily hold more than $100 million below its cost base. At the same time, Tesla temporarily suspended the service after accepting Bitcoin as a vehicle payment method, mainly because of concerns about the impact of Bitcoin mining on the environment.
Elon Musk has also talked many times in public about Bitcoin, dogcoin, payment systems and the use of renewable energy for mining. Arkham also identified wallet activity related to SpaceX-related, with transaction patterns highly similar to Tesla. At one point in time, the combined market value of Bitcoin held by Tesla and SpaceX exceeded US$4.2 billion, and the current combined value of the two companies 'positions is approximately US$1.3 billion.
