Coin Desk: "Tesla owns about $390 million worth of Bitcoin"

Electric car maker Tesla's (TSLA) Bitcoin (BTC) holdings were flat in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the latest report published on Wednesday, Coin Desk writes.

The report makes virtually no mention of the cryptocurrency, suggesting that the company founded by Elon Musk did not buy or sell Bitcoin in the last three months of last year, with the company's holdings valued at around $390 million at Wednesday's prices, the publication notes. mentioned.

According to data aggregated by Bitcoin Treasuries, Tesla holds 9,720 BTC, making it the third-largest public holder of the cryptocurrency after software company MicroStrategy (MSTR) and mining industry player Marathon (MARA).

The Elon Musk-led company invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in February 2021, accumulating around 43,000 BTC. That same month, Tesla said it would begin accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. But later that year it began selling its holdings to shore up its cash position amid uncertainties surrounding the lockdowns created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the second quarter of 2022, the company had reported that it had sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings, according to Coin Desk.

Earlier this year, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the launch of ETFs on Bitcoin spot, which according to some analysts and followers of crypto assets is a game changer in the industry. According to them, the launch of exchange-traded funds with exposure to Bitcoin paves the way for widespread adoption of the cryptocurrency, increasing the sector's role in "mainstream" finance, which will support long-term price growth.

On the other hand, voices from the financial world, including the supervisor of the American market, delimit themselves from cryptocurrency and draw attention to the risks that such investments involve.

Economist David Rosenberg said in the middle of this month that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are so volatile and difficult to value that buying them is closer to gambling than investment, according to Business Insider.