Tesla Still Owns 11,509 Bitcoin, Worth $770M: Arkham Intel

Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham has reported that Tesla maintains ownership of 11,509 Bitcoin (BTC) worth approximately $770 million.

Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham has reported that Tesla still owns 11,509 Bitcoin (BTC), which is worth around $770 million at the current market rate.

The report comes after Arkham observed large-scale movements from Tesla’s wallets last week. At the time, the firm noted that the transactions could indicate sales of the electric vehicle manufacturer’s crypto holdings. However, Arkham now believes that the observed movements were actually wallet rotations.

“We believe that the Tesla wallet movements that we reported on last last week were actually wallet rotations with the Bitcoin still owned by Tesla,” the firm stated in a tweet on Saturday.

According to Arkham’s analysis, Tesla has distributed its Bitcoin holdings across seven distinct wallets. Each of these wallets contains between 1,100 and 2,200 BTC. The current distribution is documented precisely by the firm:

“The company’s holdings are now stored at seven addresses, with 2,109.3 BTC ($142.2M) in wallet 1Fnhp, 1,900 BTC ($128.1M) in 1LERL, 1,800 BTC ($121.3M) in 1D6Vh, 1,700 BTC ($114.6M) in 16QZn, 1,600 BTC ($107.8M) in 1QC2z, 1,300 BTC ($87.6M) in 1Phab, and 1,100 BTC ($74.1M) in 1MGM8.”

Arkham also noted that each wallet received test transactions, and all but one contain round numbers of BTC. The firm disclosed that this movement is to a custodian, and some even speculated that it could be to secure a loan against BTC.

Tesla’s relationship with Bitcoin has seen major developments since its initial investment in February 2021. The company made headlines when it purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and announced it would accept the cryptocurrency as payment for its vehicles. At the time, it also became the first major automaker to do so.

However, Tesla’s Bitcoin strategy has undergone several changes. In July 2022, the company sold 75% of its holdings, reducing its position from 42,902 bitcoins to 10,725.

This sale caused a 1.7% drop in Bitcoin’s price at the time. Additionally, Tesla reversed its decision to accept Bitcoin payments, citing environmental concerns about Bitcoin mining.

In comparison to MicroStrategy, Tesla is not that active in accumulating Bitcoin. As per CoinGecko data, Tesla is the fourth largest public company in terms of Bitcoin holdings.

The first three spots are bagged by MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital Holdings and Galaxy Digital Holdings, respectively.

The movement of Bitcoin by Tesla comes at a time when BTC is struggling to sustain its upward trajectory. Bitcoin had reclaimed the $69,000 level recently.

However, the coin has failed to maintain this level and fell as low as $66,800 at press time. The 24 hour trading volume has also plunged by over 21%, according to CoinMarketCap data.