SpaceX Moves $105M in Bitcoin – Analysts See Consolidation, Not Sell-Off

A bitcoin address linked to SpaceX has moved over $106 million in bitcoin (BTC) to newly created wallets. This transfer comes a month after the Elon Musk-owned aerospace giant sent $268 million in bitcoin to new addresses via Coinbase Prime – Coinbase’s institutional digital asset custody platform

SpaceX reportedly holds approximately 6,095 BTC, worth around $554.3 million at the current market rate.

SpaceX Sends 1,163 BTC to Two Unmarked Wallets in a Move Analysts Suggest is for Consolidation Purposes

According to Arkham Intelligence data, 1,163 BTC was transferred to two unmarked wallets, with 399 BTC ($30.8 million) going to one address, and 764 BTC ($69.6 million) sent to another address.

While the motive behind the transfers is unclear, analysts suggest that SpaceX could be moving the bitcoins for better custody, from older, legacy wallets to new, modern ones, rather than for liquidation.

The funds were moved from legacy Bitcoin addresses to SegWit addresses that start with “bcq1”. The legacy Pay-to-PubKey-Hash (P2PKH) addresses that start with “1” are the oldest format. After that came the pay-to-Script-Hash (P2SH) addresses, starting with 3, followed by native SegWit (P2WPKH) addresses beginning with “bcq1”, and finally the Taproot (P2TR) addresses starting with “bc1p” –  which is the most up-to-date format.

SpaceX and Tesla Sold-Off 70% of their Bitcoin Holdings in 2022

SpaceX’s labeled wallet had sat dormant for three years before resuming activity in late July, when it sent out $153 million worth of coins. 

Musk first confirmed that SpaceX owned bitcoin in July 2021, with the aerospace firm reportedly owning 25,724 BTC, worth $1.7 billion at the time, and $2.34 billion as of today. By mid-2022, the company had reduced its stockpile by around 70% – a move possibly triggered by a market-wide shock, resulting from the Terra-Luna crash in May and the subsequent collapse of the FTX exchange in November.

Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer owned by the world’s richest man, also sold off a bulk of its bitcoin holdings in the second half of 2022, citing liquidity concerns due to supply chain disruptions related to COVID-19 lockdowns in China. It is estimated that 32,177 BTC were sold by the company at the time, which were worth $939 million then, and $2.93 billion today.

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SpaceX Moved 4,337 BTC in October to Coinbase Prime

Last month, SpaceX moved 4,337 BTC ($396.31 million) in multiple transactions to addresses linked to the company at Coinbase Prime. 

The first transfer occurred on October 21, when the company moved 2,495 BTC ($25.65 million), followed by a 1,561 BTC ($14.28 million) transfer over two transactions on October 24. At the time, Arkham Intelligence reported that SpaceX held 7,258 BTC, worth approximately $662.8 million; however, a 1,027 BTC ($93.72 million) transfer is yet to be relabeled as a Coinbase Prime address belonging to the company.

In August, SpaceX held 8,285 BTC, which then climbed past the $1 billion mark after bitcoin recorded an all-time high of $124,000 that month. As of November 27, the company holds 6095 BTC ($554.3 million). Meanwhile, Tesla is the 11th-largest bitcoin treasury firm, holding 11,509 BTC, worth $1.04 billion, according to data from Bitcoin Treasuries.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $91,026 – up 3.97% in the last 24 hours.

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