Arkham’s data indicates that Tesla’s assets are still under its control, despite initial concerns regarding a market drop following Tesla’s substantial Bitcoin transfers.
According to a blockchain analytics firm, Tesla, an electric car manufacturer, is unlikely to have transferred its entire Bitcoin hoard worth $780 million to unidentified wallets on Oct. 15.
“We are of the opinion that the Tesla wallet movements that we reported on last week were wallet rotations, with the Bitcoin remaining under Tesla’s ownership,” Arkham Intelligence stated in an Oct. 22 X post.
Arkham observed that Tesla allocated 11,509 Bitcoin to seven wallets, each of which contained between 1,100 and 2,200 BTC, on October 15. Wallet addresses “1Fnhp” and “1LERL” received the greatest quantities, valued at $142.2 million and $128.1 million, respectively.
Initially, the substantial transfers exacerbated concerns regarding a potential market crash, causing anxiety on social media platforms such as X.
However, Arkham’s data indicates that the accounts have not transferred any Bitcoin funds since October 15.
It has also not affected the price of Bitcoin, which rose by 5% to $69,220 on Oct. 21 following Tesla’s transfers, according to data from CoinGecko. Bitcoin has since declined by 2.3% to $67,600.
Arkham noted that some observers speculate that the funds may be moving to a custodian, potentially enabling entrepreneur Elon Musk’s firm to secure a loan against the Bitcoin, although the precise reason for the transfers is not immediately apparent.
Currently, Tesla employs Coinbase Prime Custody to store its Bitcoin. In the aftermath of the bell on October 23, Tesla executives may disclose their intentions regarding Bitcoin during their third-quarter earnings call.
According to Bitcoin Treasuries data, Musk’s organization remains the fourth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder, trailing only business intelligence firm MicroStrategy and Bitcoin miners Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, if Arkham’s analysis is accurate.
The seventh-largest Bitcoin holdings by a private firm, SpaceX, Musk’s spacecraft manufacturing business, remain at 8,285 Bitcoin valued at $560 million.
Tesla acquired Bitcoin for the first time in February 2021, purchasing $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, momentarily permitted Bitcoin as a form of payment for the company’s vehicles in March 2021. However, he reverted his decision a few weeks later.
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