SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Musk's Tesla says it invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin, sending the cryptocurrency to record levels near $44,000 [marketwatch.com]

Elon Musk's Tesla Inc. said that it has acquired $1.5 billion in bitcoins in January and that it could accept the world's No. 1 digital asset for payment in the future.

Tesla revealed the purchase in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, which helped to drive up bitcoin prices +11.50% to around $44,203, a gain of over 13% in early trade on CoinDesk.

"In January 2021, we updated our investment policy to provide us with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity," Tesla said in a 10-K filing with the U.S. markets regulator.

"Moreover, we expect to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which we may or may not liquidate upon receipt," the filing continued.

The move comes as Musk has recently been a more vocal champion of digital assets on his social platforms.

Also at Reuters [reuters.com] and CNBC [cnbc.com].

Original Submission