Tesla has purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin causing a surge in the price of the cryptocurrency.
The Wall Street Journal’s Caitlin Ostroff and Rebecca Elliott reported:
Tesla Inc. TSLA 1.31% said Monday that it bought $1.5 billion in bitcoin, a disclosure that follows Chief Executive Elon Musk’s promotion of the cryptocurrency and other digital-currency alternatives on Twitter.
The electric-vehicle company also said it expects to start accepting bitcoin as payment for its products soon. Bitcoin prices jumped more than 10% after the announcement, according to cryptocurrency research and news site CoinDesk.
CNN’s Chris Isidore wrote:
Tesla is betting big on bitcoin, saying it may soon accept the digital currency as payment for its cars. And the most valuable car company on the stock market said it is holding some of its cash in bitcoin rather than traditional currency.
In its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla said that it expects “to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future … initially on a limited basis, which we may or may not liquidate upon receipt.”
Reuters reported:
The worlds largest crypto currency was up 14% in late trade, setting a new record high above $44,000. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust rose 20.6%, its highest since mid January. Gold jumped more than 1% while ethereum, another cryptocurrency, surged to a record high.
