Arkham: Tesla still owns $780m in Bitcoin following wallet movement

• Tesla has split the 11,509 Bitcoin across seven wallets
• Arkham Intelligence said some have speculated that the move was to a crypto custodian
• Tesla remains the third largest publicly traded Bitcoin company being MicroStrategy and Marathon Digital Holdings

Tesla still owns 11,509 Bitcoin despite the wallet movement last week, according to a blockchain analytics company.

In a post on X, Arkham Intelligence said:

“We believe that the Tesla wallet movements that we reported on last week were wallet rotations with the Bitcoin still owned by Tesla. Tesla moved their entire balance of 11,509 BTC ($776.9M) to new wallets.”

𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: 𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗟𝗔 𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗢𝗜𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗦

We believe that the Tesla wallet movements that we reported on last week were wallet rotations with the Bitcoin still owned by Tesla.

Tesla moved their entire balance of 11,509 BTC ($776.9M) to new wallets. pic.twitter.com/aWeHrwjo22

— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) October 22, 2024

Arkham noted that Tesla split the 11,509 Bitcoin into seven wallets, with the largest wallet holding 1Fnhp – 2109.3 BTC ($142.2M).

“Some have speculated that this is movement to a custodian, for example to secure a loan against the BTC,” said Arkham.

Third largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder

Tesla’s Bitcoin transfers mark the first time the electric car company has interacted with its crypto wallet since 2022 when it initially sold off a significant portion of its holdings.

At its height, Tesla owned around 43,000 Bitcoin after it invested $1.5 billion in the crypto asset in February 2021, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries. This resulted in the sale of $272 million worth of Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2021, creating a profit of $128 million.

By the second quarter of 2022, Tesla sold another $936 million in Bitcoin, generating $64 million in gains as the market experienced volatility.

With the recent transfers, some feared this would lead to a market dump. Tesla is expected to conduct its third-quarter earnings call scheduled on October 23 where it may reveal its plans for its Bitcoin.

To date, Tesla remains the third largest holder of Bitcoin among publicly traded companies. It trails behind MicroStrategy and Marathon Digital Holdings.