Hours before its release on Amazon, "Elon Musk" was the second best-selling book in the US behind a self-help book co-written by Oprah Winfrey
Elon Musk has said Bitcoin was one of three "meaningful" assets he had outside company stocks. AFP

Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX hold a collective $1.3 billion in Bitcoin (based on current prices), cryptocurrency intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence revealed Thursday, noting that it is the first time the tech giants' on-chain BTC holdings have been publicly identified.

According to Arkham, electric vehicle titan Tesla currently holds over 11,000 Bitcoin worth around $780 million across 68 addresses. Spacecraft and satellite company SpaceX, on the other hand, is believed to have over 8,000 Bitcoin worth around $560 million across 28 wallet addresses.

In a Thursday post on Musk's X (formerly Twitter), Arkham noted that "the on-chain fund flows we've identified match financial statements from" the two tech titans. It also said Tesla purchased Bitcoin worth $1.5 billion in January 2021.

In January, Bitcoin Treasuries data revealed that Tesla held over 9,720 Bitcoin. The EV behemoth did not mention BTC-related activities in its fourth quarter 2023 report.

Musk, who revealed in 2021 that the only "three meaningful assets" he held outside his company stocks were Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE). He also revealed at the time that he had more Bitcoin holdings than ETH or DOGE. He went on to reveal that SpaceX owns Bitcoin, but did not disclose just how much BTC the company holds.

He signaled optimism on the potential role of Bitcoin in the monetary system, albeit on a more cautious tone compared to BTC maximalists such as MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor.

"Bitcoin by itself cannot be the monetary system of the world at the base layer, but at the second layer it's possible depending on how it's implemented," he said, as per The Block.

Musk also spoke of SpaceX's Bitcoin holdings in January, saying his satellite company still holds "a bunch" of the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency. He did not elaborate, but his January remarks came following a report claiming that SpaceX wrote down its Bitcoin holdings' value by a total of $373 million in 2021 and 2022 and had reportedly sold its holdings.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has been on a significant rally in recent weeks, passing its 2021 all-time high Tuesday to over $69,000 in the morning before sliding below $63,000 in the afternoon. Analysts noted that BTC's latest heights highlight the cryptocurrency's resilience. On the other hand, skeptics also warned that investors should still be careful as there are potential risks associated with skyrocketing prices within a short period.

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