By
Bena Ilyas
April 18th, 2024
Tesla has joined the league of companies with Bitcoin as treasury reserve, becoming the first S&P 500 company to purchase digital assets.
In a recent episode of CoinDesk Podcast Network, Nathaniel Whittemore revealed more details on the $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin acquired by Elon Musk‘s electric vehicle company Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). The CoinDesk Podcast Network, EP 506, was released on the 8th of February. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 8th of February, Tesla revealed that its Bitcoin acquisition.
In the filing, the automaker said the acquisition is part of the company’s updated investment policy. The policy was approved by the Adult Committee of Tesla’s Board of Directors. The policy allows Tesla to invest a portion of its cash in alternative reserve assets. As stated in the SEC filing, the reserve assets include digital assets, gold bullion, and gold-exchange funds.
Tesla’s Bitcoin acquisition has made several headlines and stirred up comments in the crypto community. Following the acquisition announcement, Bitcoin soared 13% to reach a new high of around $44,000.
Now, Nathaniel Whittemore, also NLW, the host of the CoinDesk Podcast Network EP 506 did a breakdown on implications of the acquisition. Referring to the SEC filing, NLW mentioned Bitcoin’s features as a hedge against inflation. He also noted that Bitcoin is a store of value and digital gold.
He said that innovative companies, like Tesla, now acknowledge Bitcoin as an essential asset to hold.
Notably, Tesla also revealed plans to begin accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for any of its products:
“Moreover, we expect to begin accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which may or may not liquidate upon receipt.”
Speaking further on the global adoption of cryptocurrencies, NLW noted an announcement by PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) to begin offering crypto payments to any of its 29 million merchants. In its 2020 Q4 financial report, PayPal said it would extend its Buy/Hold/Sell crypto initiative to Venmo and selected international markets.
Musk’s Tesla Becomes First S&P 500 to Make Bitcoin Acquisition
Tesla has joined the league of companies with Bitcoin as treasury reserve, becoming the first S&P 500 company to purchase digital assets.
Before Tesla’s recent BTC purchase, other companies like MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ: MSTR) have invested in the king coin. MicroStrategy began its Bitcoin acquisition in August 2020 and has made more purchases since then.
With the production of new Models and opening new factories over the past year, Tesla has surged 459.73%. The EV company has climbed over 225 in its year-to-date record and nearly 105% in the last three months. In the last one month, Tesla has grown by 6.44% and advanced further by 2.81% in the last five days.
Currently, Tesla stock is at $856 in the pre-market, which shows a 0.86% loss from its previous close of $863.42.