Tesla, which made waves last year when it revealed a major investment in Bitcoin, has now sold off most of its holdings of the cryptocurrency.
The electric car firm has offloaded 75% of its Bitcoin, which was worth about $2bn (£1.7bn) at the end of 2021.
It is backing away as the value of the cryptocurrency has plunged, falling by more than 50% this year.
Tesla said it bought traditional currency with the $936m (£782m) from its Bitcoin sales.
Tesla boss Elon Musk has been among the most high profile champions of cryptocurrency, with his pronouncements on social media often driving significant trading activity.
Tesla's $1.5bn investment in Bitcoin, revealed in February 2021, prompted a surge of demand in the currency. The price of the notoriously volatile cryptocurrency soared last year to almost $70,000 in November before crashing.
Last year, Elon Musk took to Twitter to outline Tesla's position on Bitcoin.
"Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin". That sounds pretty emphatic.
Yet from the mouth of the world's richest person, statements should be taken with not just a pinch but a shovel of salt.
We now know that a year after that Tweet, Tesla sold most of its Bitcoin.
You might be noticing a pattern here?
Whether it's promising driverless tech or buying social media companies, Mr Musk's pronouncements don't always come to pass.
That doesn't seem to have hurt his business career, up to now.
But this is another reminder that his words, which can move markets, are not set in stone.
The move is yet more bad news for Bitcoin and crypto more generally. Musk is an advocate of crypto, and helped hype up currencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin.
Mr Musk said that this wasn't a reflection on Bitcoin, and more about the need for cash.
However, he also called crypto a "side show to the side show". Not exactly a ringing endorsem*nt.
Tesla shared the sale of the holdings as part of its regular quarterly update. It said Bitcoin was one of the factors that hurt its profitability.
However, the company reported higher-than-expected profit for the three months to the end of June as price increases of its best-selling cars helped offset challenges, including lockdowns in China.
It also promised a "record-breaking second half" to the year.
Tesla said production at its factory in China rose to a monthly record as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
Tesla Inc. said it has sold 75% of the bitcoin it had purchased, little more than a year after investing in the digital currency. The electric-vehicle maker said the sale added $936 million to its balance sheet in the second quarter. The company also said it had an earnings impairment linked to bitcoin.
Tesla put $1.5bn into Bitcoin in early 2021, with chief executive Elon Musk saying it would be accepted as payment. It changed course a few weeks later, and Tesla has since sold most of its Bitcoin holdings. It now holds about $184m of Bitcoin.
At this time, Tesla sold a majority of its BTC. It sold 29,160 BTC for an average price of around $20,000. According to Musk, the sale served multiple purposes, such as proving that BTC can handle large transactions and giving Tesla extra cash in the event of a recession.
The co-founder of Tesla Inc. revealed on Twitter that he owns only a tiny fraction of one bitcoin token. "I literally own zero cryptocurrency, apart from . 25 BTC that a friend sent me many years ago," Musk confessed.
After making big plays in Bitcoin in 2021, Tesla jettisoned $936 million worth of the cryptocurrency in the second quarter of 2022, trimming its Bitcoin holdings by 75%, the company said in new investor filings.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is believed to own the most bitcoins, with estimates suggesting over 1 million BTC mined in the early days of the network.
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates isn't a fan of cryptocurrency. Gates, now fourth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $125 billion, said during a Thursday Ask Me Anything exchange on Reddit that he doesn't own any digital currency. “I like investing in things that have valuable output.
This means that Tesla missed out on an extra $500 million in profit had it not sold its Bitcoin in March 2021 and June 2022. Tesla still holds 9,720 Bitcoins, worth around $400 million at current prices. It will be interesting to see whether it holds on to the tokens in 2024 or sells.
Warren Buffett Doesn't Own Bitcoin, but His Company Is Betting $1 Billion on This Crypto Stock. Warren Buffett has made his dislike for Bitcoin known over the years.
Binance holds one wallet with 248,597 Bitcoin, worth around $16.5bn as of April 2024, making it the single most valuable wallet. But it is worth noting that Binance has multiple wallets — with estimates of around 504,000 BTC in total holdings.
In the same month, Tesla said it would begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment. However, it started to sell its holdings later that year to maximize its cash position amid uncertainties related to COVID lockdowns.
In a January ask-and-answer session on X, Cuban said that his crypto portfolio includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon and Injective, and that his NBA team the Dallas Mavericks still accepts Dogecoin as payment.
How many bitcoins exist, and how many are left to mine? Limited Supply: Bitcoin has a maximum supply of 21 million coins, and as of March 2023, more than 19 million have been mined. Remaining bitcoins: There are approximately 1.5 million bitcoins left to be mined.
Tesla disclosed its bitcoin purchase in its latest annual report, saying the move aims to “diversify and maximize returns on our cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity.” Tesla said a board committee had approved changes to company rules on investments, adding that it can also invest cash in ...
What cryptocurrency does Tesla accept? Tesla only accepts Dogecoin. Tesla cannot receive or detect any other digital assets. Ensure you are making your purchase with Dogecoin.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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