Summary:
- 75% of the Bitcoin owned by Tesla was sold off according to the company’s Q2 2022 earnings report.
- Elon Musk’s automobile maker supposedly chose to bolster cash reserves with the sale.
- The move strengthened Tesla’s balance sheet with almost $1 billion at current market prices.
- Billionaire Musk stressed that the sale does not represent the company’s verdict on BTC as an asset.
- Elon mentioned COVID-19-related China Shutdowns as the main reason for his decision.
- The crypto market has remained above $1 trillion despite the recent rally. BTC is also above $22,000 despite the large sell-off.
- Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao reacted to social media sentiment about the news and said that Tesla’s BTC trade is a drop in the ocean.
Binance CEO Changpeng has tagged Tesla’s Bitcoin trade as a drop in the ocean as the electric car maker added fresh cash to its balance sheet by offloading 75% of its BTC holdings amid COVID-19 lockdowns in China.
Tesla released This week, the company released its Q2 2022 earnings report and provided an update on its BTC holdings. Elon’s company initially splurged the cash in February 2021 and scooped up about $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin at the time.
BTC would be a payment option, according to the company. This decision was later reversed due to energy concerns.
According to the earnings report Tesla has sold 75% of its BTC. The trade was worth $936 million and the proceeds were added to the company’s cash holdings.
CEO Elon Musk said that the trade does NOT mean that Telsa is not interested in Bitcoin. Instead, Musk explained that the decision was born out of a need to strengthen the company’s cash reserves as COVID-19 lockdowns in China tighten.
Musk also said that Tesla could look to buy more BTC and increase crypto holdings in the future, but maintained that digital assets are not Tesla’s main focus.
$1 Billion Bitcoin Sell-Off Is No Big Deal Say CZ
Concerns arose on social media following the news about what this move means for top crypto. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, responded to comments and said such a sale is “a drop in the ocean”.
BTC trades above $22,000 in press time despite a 4.4% decline over the past 24 hours.
