Tesla quietly moves $769m in Bitcoin to multiple unknown wallets

Cybertruck manufacturer Tesla has moved its Bitcoin holdings to multiple unidentified wallets after two years of inactivity.

Wallets labeled Tesla began moving funds around 20:41 UTC on October 15, after making several test transactions for small amounts of Bitcoin, according to data from Arkham Intelligence. Later, 11,500 Bitcoins (BTC) worth over $769 million were distributed to seven different wallets.

The transfers marked the first time funds were moved since June 17, 2022.

At the time of publishing the news, there was no official statement from the electric vehicle maker as to whether it plans to sell its assets, while the ownership of the buyer wallets is unknown. Tesla’s third quarter earnings report, scheduled to be published on October 23, is expected to shed light on the latest move.

An observer at X suggested that the move was probably not a sale, but rather an effort by Tesla to gain direct custody of the coins. They stated that this could be a signal of the reactivation of Bitcoin payments and pointed out that the use of the old address format, which is not generally used by exchanges for short-term transactions, is an important indicator.

Tesla’s Bitcoin sales

Tesla last sold Bitcoin in June 2022; the company sold 29,160 units at an average price of $20,000 per coin, which remains the firm’s largest sale to date. Prior to this, the firm had offloaded 4,320 BTC per month after purchasing its $1.5 billion flagship cryptocurrency in February 2021.

At the time, Musk said the move was to show how easy it was to liquidate Bitcoin without significantly impacting the market.

Shortly thereafter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company would also accept Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles. But just months later in May 2021, the company suspended the payment option, citing growing concerns about the environmental impacts of Bitcoin mining, particularly the heavy reliance on fossil fuels such as coal to power mining operations.

Before today’s transfers, Tesla was the fourth-largest institutional holder of Bitcoin, after business intelligence company MicroStrategy and Bitcoin miners Galaxy Digital and Riot platforms, according to Bitbo data.

Meanwhile, Musk’s other company, SpaceX, continues to hold its Bitcoin stash, currently holding 8,285 Bitcoins (roughly $556 million).

At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price has not reacted to the transfers, with the cryptocurrency trading just below $67,000 and up 1.7% in the last 24 hours.

In related news, Musk mentioned the possibility of Dogecoin being reactivated as a payment option for Tesla products in August. Although no official statement has been made, Musk’s subtle hints have brought Dogecoin into the spotlight once again.