Tesla Still HODLing $218M in Bitcoin

• Tesla remains one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin
• BTC Price at the time of writing – $19,261.53
• Tesla announced that it sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings in July

According to documents released by Tesla ahead of its investor relations call for the third quarter, the electric car maker’s Bitcoin holdings have not changed since the second quarter of 2022.

Tesla claims to still have $218 million worth of Bitcoin in its possession in its report that was made available to the general public on Wednesday. Tesla announced in July that it had sold approximately $936 million, or 75%, of its Bitcoin holdings.

As of the end of June, Tesla reported that it remained in possession of “digital assets” worth $222 million on its balance sheet following the sale. Musk had stated on the Q2 investor call that the company had sold its Bitcoin to free up cash as COVID lockdowns in China continued.

MicroStrategy holds around  130,000 BTC 

Given the uncertainty surrounding COVID lockdowns in China, it was crucial for us to maximize our cash position,” he explained. 

Tesla is still one of the largest holders of Bitcoin by a publicly traded company, surpassing MicroStrategy’s 130,000 BTC (approximately $2.48 billion) and Galaxy Digital Holdings’ 16,400 BTC (approximately $313 million) holdings, despite that sale.

At the time, Musk’s plan to acquire Twitter and the subsequent legal battle over his desire to renege on the deal did not influence the decision, nor does it appear to have altered the company’s position regarding cryptocurrencies.

In September, messages that were leaked showed the richest man in the world discussing the possible future of the popular social media platform with a number of tech entrepreneurs, including Block Inc.’s Jack Dorsey and FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried.

The possibility of accepting Dogecoin, Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, as a means of payment was discussed.

Musk stated that the plan was for users to pay a small fee to register a message on the chain, which would reduce spam and bots by requiring 0.1 Doge to post or repost comments.

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Does Bitcoin have a political nature?

Particularly since El Salvador began to accept Bitcoin as legal tender, the cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly political by the day. 

Nayib Bukele, the country’s president, made the decision almost entirely on his own, ignoring criticism from his people, the Bank of England, the IMF, Vitalik Buterin, and many others.

Bukele has also announced plans to build Bitcoin City, a city entirely based on mining Bitcoin using geothermal energy from volcanoes, since the Bitcoin legal tender law was passed in September 2021.

There have been rumors that Mexico, Russia, and other nations might also accept Bitcoin as legal tender; however, El Salvador is the only nation that has not yet done so.

On the other hand, countries like China have taken drastic measures to stop Bitcoin mining and trading.

The Chinese government announced in May 2021 that all crypto-related transactions were against the law. A severe crackdown on Bitcoin mining operations followed, driving numerous crypto-related businesses to relocate to more welcoming locales.

Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.

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