Tesla may resume taking cryptocurrency payments, according to its third quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to the report, Tesla spent $1.5 billion on BTC in the nine months ending September 30. It accepted Bitcoin as payment for sales of some items in certain locations until the end of March, but it stopped doing so in May 2021.
“We may in the future restart the practice of transacting in cryptocurrencies (“digital assets”) for our products and services.”
As indicated in the filing, the “fair market value” of Tesla’s digital asset holdings as of Sept. 30 was $1.83 billion, according to the filing. The business went on to say:
“We believe in the long-term potential of digital assets both as an investment and also as a liquid alternative to cash.”
Tesla has profited $1.3 billion from Bitcoin
Tesla announced in its third-quarter financial report that it had to incur a $51 million impairment charge to account for its current Bitcoin holdings.
According to digital asset accounting regulations, if the price of asset declines within a period, the corporation is required to record the decrease as an impairment. If, on the other hand, the price rises, the increase is not recorded as a gain on the balance sheet. During the quarter, bitcoin prices varied from $30K to $52.7K, with the final price being $41.5K.
Following Tesla’s significant investment in Bitcoin early this year, the business sold 10 percent of its holdings in the second quarter, resulting in a $272 million increase in profits for the period.
According to Bitcointreasuries, Tesla presently has around 43,200 bitcoins, which are worth an estimated $2.7 billion at current pricing, according to the website. However, even after selling 10 percent of its stockpile, the corporation has accrued unrealized profits of about $1.3 billion from that investment to far.
According to the website, Tesla is the second-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, behind only MicroStrategy, which possesses over 114,400 bitcoins, valued at almost $7.4 billion at current pricing. Square, a payments company, is ranked third on the list, with around 8,000 bitcoins.
Acceptance of Greener Bitcoin
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in July that the company would reaccept it as soon as Bitcoin mining facilities were utilizing more than 50% renewable energy.
“But as long as there is a long-term trend toward the use of renewable energy by the community, Tesla can support that.”
Since the migration from China, which relied heavily on coal-based electricity for its mining operations, the trend has already begun. The vast majority of newly relocated Bitcoin mining businesses in the United States now rely on renewable energy sources to operate.