By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 25th, 2024
Currently, the market value of Tesla’s stake in Bitcoin is totaling approximately $1.26 billion, assuming the $2.48 billion value that was recorded at the end of last quarter has fallen by 49% as the trading value has done. TSLA stock was in red yesterday.
Currently, the stock market is struggling, with last year’s leaders losing their positions. Cryptocurrencies are showing bearish signals as well. In particular, Bitcoin (BTC) is further falling, moving away from its latest records. Such a trend follows Chinese authorities’ ban of any crypto-related activities. However, it does not leave Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) undaunted. Despite the fact that the value of Tesla’s Bitcoin assets is falling, Elon Musk is not going to sell them. Instead, on his Twitter, he signaled to hold BTC with “Diamond Hands” – a symbol that Reddit uses to show the intention to stubbornly keep to stock or any other asset.
Tesla has 💎 🙌
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 19, 2021
Yesterday, Tesla stock fell along with Bitcoin’s price. Tesla shares closed 2.49% down on Wednesday, at $563.46 per share. After hours, TSLA stock further slid by 0.91%. The current market cap is $556.68 billion.
Why Is Bitcoin Falling?
The number one crypto coin is struggling. Yesterday, it dropped below $40,000 for the first time in over three months, hitting an intraday low of around $36,000 at 7:30 am ET. Notably, BTC has dipped for the fifth day in a row, down 21.9% within the last 24 hours, which brought its losses for May to over 35%, the most for a single month since November 2018.
The full-blown market pullback has seen over $3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency liquidation. Out of this amount, $2.1 billion came from Bitcoin trades. As of the press moment, Bitcoin is trading at $40,457.28. In the last 7 days, it has lost as much as 20.73$.
Yesterday’s crash followed the news about China banning financial institutions and payment companies from providing crypto-related services. As we reported, three Chinese institutions made a joint statement that financial institutions can not have any business related to cryptocurrencies. Following their announcement, the crypto market, especially Bitcoin, received another blow. Despite the fact that the announcement was just a reminder for crypto enthusiasts, it managed to affect the market performance.
Tesla to Hold Its Bitcoin Assets
Tesla that has purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin units in the first quarter of this year, was expected to get rid of its BTC assets amid the bearish market. However, the tweet of Elon Musk provided clear evidence that the company would keep its crypto holdings. Currently, the market value of Tesla’s stake in Bitcoin is totaling approximately $1.26 billion, assuming the $2.48 billion value that was recorded at the end of last quarter has fallen by 49% as the trading value has done.
In addition, Tesla even briefly allowed its customers to pay for vehicles with cryptocurrency. However, it later canceled that option, referring to environmental concerns that hit Bitcoin prices.