Financial markets were stunned yesterday when Tesla (TSLA) revealed in its US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filing that the electric vehicle manufacturer has included Bitcoin (BTC) to its balance sheet.
The latest 10K filing made by Tesla for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 indicates a $1.50 billion allotment to Bitcoin. As Bitwise academic David Lawant indicates, Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin represents about 7.70% of its total cash holdings.
He got those figures from Tesla’s cash and equivalents, which stood at $19.40 billion at the end of last year, or $9.80 billion, devoid of debt and finance leases.
Purchase of Bitcoin by Tesla has given it the top place in the list of enterprises which have the largest holding of Bitcoins in their treasuries. MicroStrategy is the only other company, which has purchased more of Bitcoins, and holds it as strategic reserves.
Tesla’s arrival in the crypto market saw the price of Bitcoin jump sharply. Bitcoin, at the time of writing this article, was trading at $47,762.38, after hitting a high of $48,025 earlier in the day. The current price represents a gain of 42.9% in the last week. For the first time, Bitcoin’s market cap surpassed $800 billion.
*$9.8 billion of cash net of debt and finance leases (not $98b!)
— David Lawant (@dlawant) February 8, 2021
Along with addition of Bitcoin to balance sheet, Tesla intends to begin accepting the crypto asset as a method of payment. Furthermore, the company plans to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet instead of liquidating it immediately for fiat money.
Tesla leads Bitcoin adoption at a critical time in the cryptocurrency bullish rally. Elon Musk’s latest Bitcoin investment could expedite retail investors’ participation in the near-term.
Bitcoin has also drawn the interest of large enterprises. Microstrategy’s Bitcoin purchase related webinar last week recorded more than 1,400 signups.
