According to a January 16 Forbes report and speaking at a Bitcoin-focused conference, billionaire businessman and investor Elon Musk recently confirmed his crypto portfolio, revealing he holds sizeable amounts of Dogecoin and Bitcoin.
Elon, who recently acquired the popular microblogging platform Twitter (now rebranded as X), also affirmed continued commitment to cryptocurrencies by his companies despite openly ending cryptocurrency payment support for Tesla last year.
The Dogecoin investment by Elon is surprising to many due to the massive drop in value from its all-time high in 2021. The price fall and insane volatility of the token would naturally make one expect Elon Musk to have dumped the coin. But it appears his relationship with Dogecoin is deeper than that.
$275 Million in Bitcoins are on the Tesla Balance Sheet
While speaking at the conference, Elon Musk confirmed that his EV manufacturing firm, Tesla, still holds Bitcoins, with analysts estimating the specific number to be around $275 million (approximately). While it may not be much compared to peak Bitcoin holdings of $1.5 billion in 2021, the amount is still enough to make Tesla the third-largest publicly-traded Bitcoin whale.
Recall that Tesla announced the acceptance of Bitcoin payments for its EVs in March 2021. The announcement coincided with its public declaration that it had acquired a $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase. Shortly after, the firm ended the crypto payments program and sold off over 4,000 Bitcoins, citing the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining as its reason in May 2021.
Tesla would sell more of its Bitcoin holdings after that, leading to speculations that the company might be seeking to get rid of its entire cryptocurrency portfolio. With the recent statement, Tesla may not sell its crypto assets anytime soon.
SpaceX and The Boring Company are Also Crypto Bulls
Tesla is not the only company Musk-owned with significant cryptocurrency holdings; his space exploration company, SpaceX, currently accepts Dogecoin payments for merchandise. Also, his equipment firm, The Boring Company, accepts payments in the same cryptocurrency for rides on its Vegas Loop.
About the Elon Musk-Dogecoin Controversy
The show of love for Dogecoin by Elon Musk has had more than its fair share of controversies. In 2022, a group of Dogecoin investors sued the billionaire businessman, accusing him of transparently manipulating the crypto market using his fame and money to gain illegal wealth for himself.
The impact of Elon Musk on Dogecoin value was undeniable around the time of the lawsuit, with his often unguarded tweets and live TV appearances routinely swinging the price of popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin.
As his lawyers argued his innocence, Musk stepped back from commenting on cryptocurrencies, only appearing on X spaces infrequently to make relatively non-impactful comments.
His semi-retirement from active crypto commentary has not been without consequences, as his once powerful grip on the price of the token movements appears to have waned quite significantly. While his portfolio confirmation may have caused a slight Dogecoin rally, Bitcoin barely gained, only enjoying a 0.41% price increase in the last 24 hours.
X Bags Several Payment Licenses
Amid the confirmation of sizeable crypto holdings, the popular microblogging app X (formerly known as Twitter) secured a Utah money transmitter license on January 15, making it the 15th US state to approve plans to offer in-app payments.
Elon Musk had earlier confirmed plans to compete with prominent payment services like PayPal and Visa in 2024 amid the loud transition to a super app. The app also launched an @XPayments handle, confirming plans to allow users to make and receive payments through the social media platform.
While there is still no official statement from X, its CEO Linda Yaccarino, or CTO Elon Musk about cryptocurrency support on X payments, crypto investors and enthusiasts are already fantasizing about the prospects of making cryptocurrency payments available on the platform.
With the recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs and his statements about the bullish stance on cryptocurrencies, hoping for crypto integration on X no longer seems unreasonable.
