SpaceX, an Elon Musk-owned aerospace technology firm, sold most if not all of $373 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) in holdings, according to an Aug. 17 report in The Wall Street Journal.
“SpaceX wrote down the value of bitcoin it owns by a total of $373 million last year and in 2021 and has sold the cryptocurrency,” reported the WSJ.
Musk’s market comments on and dealings in cryptocurrencies, especially DOGE coin and BTC, are taken seriously and often sway the markets in either direction depending on whether his quotes are supportive or not.
Not that SpaceX needed the cash. SaceX’s surging revenue helped it turn a profit in Q1 2023, after two annual losses, WSJ reported, citing documents. SpaceX generated $55 million in profit on $1.5 billion in revenues during the January-to-March period.
Read: Bitcoin is in a holding pattern, but not forever
SpaceX financials did show roughly $5.2 billion in total expenses for 2022, and $5.4 billion in 2021 and 2022 for acquiring property and equipment, not to mention research and development costs.
Tesla, the EV company co-founded by Musk, purchased $1.5 billion worth of the crypto asset last year, helping prop BTC then to over $43,000 in price.
Tesla’s Q2 of 2023 earnings report showed the firm selling all but $184 million worth of BTC and had liquidated over 30,000 BTC in Q2 of 2022 for $936 million, or three-quarters of its original $1.5 billion BTC holdings.
BTC plunges
Bitcoin plunged to a two-month low of $25,392.05 on Thursday, May 17, 2023, upon hearing of SpaceX selling its holdings of the cryptocurrency.
It later rebounded to about $26,600, down 7% vs. 24 hours earlier, and is currently trading at $26,441.4 at the time of writing.
Bitcoin had already felt price pressures this Thursday dropping from $28,600 to $27,600 as a strong dollar and risk-off trading weighed on cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum also skidded 6% to $1,686. DOGE lost 10% to 6.14 cents.
All in all, the price of BTC fell around 8% in a span of 10 minutes, according to Coinmarketcap.
The fall has taken Bitcoin’s market cap below $500 billion for the first time since June 16. BTC is still up 60% since it entered 2023 at about $16,550.
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