In 2021, Elon Musk played a crucial role in both the rise and fall of cryptocurrency, making waves especially during the China ban. Before the expulsion of miners from China, Musk vocally shared his concerns about the environmental damage caused by BTC mining operations. Despite this, Elon Musk continues to hold cryptocurrencies.
Elon Musk and Bitcoin
Blockchain intelligence company Arkham announced today that it has identified several cryptocurrency addresses belonging to Elon Musk’s companies. If the company has indeed succeeded in identifying Tesla and SpaceX’s BTC assets, it could put an end to future sale rumors.
Arkham’s announcement today stated the following:
“Arkham has identified the BTC holdings of Tesla and SpaceX. We believe Tesla currently holds 11,510 BTC ($780 million) across 68 addresses and SpaceX holds 8,290 BTC ($560 million) across 28 addresses. The on-chain movements we’ve detected match Tesla and SpaceX’s financial statements. Tesla purchased $1.5 billion worth of BTC in January 2021 and has sold BTC twice:
> $272 million worth of BTC in the first quarter of 2021
> $936 million worth of BTC in the second quarter of 2022
Tesla allowed purchases with Bitcoin between March 24 and May 12, 2021.
We are the first company to identify these wallets.”
Tesla Wallets;
SpaceX Assets
Arkham On-Chain Intelligence
Arkham has been a presence in the blockchain intelligence field for a long time, striving to match wallet addresses with real-world identities. Although the company claims to use artificial intelligence to assist in this, it has also been mentioned in a report by CryptoLeaks concerning data privacy violations.
The ability to monitor assets seized by Elon Musk or the US government in real-time on this platform is very positive. The company reduces market rumors of buying and selling, leading to less speculative price movements. For example, headlines like “US Sells Bitcoin” have caused significant drops in the past, but with the identification of wallet addresses, it is now possible to detect real movements beyond rumors.
