Tesla Sold 10% of Its Bitcoin Holdings in Q1 2021 to Prove Liquidity

Elon Musk-led electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla revealed that it sold a part of its bitcoin holdings after its billion-dollar purchase of the flagship cryptocurrency earlier in 2021.

• In an earnings call, Tesla stated that it sold $272 million worth of bitcoin in the first quarter of 2021. With the price of bitcoin appreciating since the acquisition, the company’s BTC value may have grown to $2.72 billion, indicating that Tesla likely sold 10% of bitcoin holdings. According to the slide deck, selling bitcoin helped them make a “$101 million positive impact.”

No, you do not. I have not sold any of my Bitcoin. Tesla sold 10% of its holdings essentially to prove liquidity of Bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash on balance sheet.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2021

• The company made headlines back in February after it was revealed that it bought BTC worth $1.5 billion in January 2021. Tesla’s bitcoin purchase at the time caused a spike in the price of the largest crypto asset by market capitalization.
• Later in March, Tesla announced that it was accepting BTC as a payment method for its vehicles. Meanwhile, the company stated that the bitcoin received would not be converted into fiat.
• Bitcoin price saw a massive dip over the previous weekend, with the flagship crypto trading around $47,000 after earlier reaching an all-time high (ATH) of $65,000. At the time of writing, BTC is trading at a little above $53,000.
• Meanwhile, companies have recently been adding bitcoin to their balance sheets or as a payment method in their platforms. As reported by CryptoPotato, major wine retailer Acker announced that it was accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin as payment methods for its wines.
• Also, leading flexible workspace provider, WeWork, began accepting BTC, USDC, Ethereum, and Paxos, for payment. Companies like Microstrategy have been on a bitcoin buying spree, with the company recently stating that its non-employee directors would be paid in BTC.
• Commenting on the Tesla development was the popular bitcoin proponent, Max Keiser. He noted that the company’s move has removed any concerns about the practical liquidity requirements for listed companies.