Why Elon Musk’s SpaceX transferred $133M in Bitcoin

• Elon Musk’s SpaceX has moved over 133 million dollars worth of Bitcoin.
• The firm transferred a total of 1,215 BTC to two separate, new wallets.
• The move follows other recent on-chain activity after a three-year lull.

Elon Musk’s space exploration company, SpaceX, moved more than $133 million in Bitcoin on Friday, according to the blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.

The significant on-chain transfer is the latest in a series of recent moves from the company after a more than three-year period of wallet inactivity.

The transaction has sparked fresh speculation in the market, though it is not immediately clear why the funds were transferred or if the company has any intention of selling a portion of its substantial Bitcoin holdings.

A major on-chain transfer to unlabeled wallets

Arkham Intelligence reported that SpaceX transferred a total of 1,215 Bitcoin in two separate transactions to new wallets. “SpaceX just moved funds totalling $133.7 million,” the analytics firm posted. 

They transferred 300 BTC ($33M) and 915 BTC ($100.7M) to new wallets.

The move comes just days after the company shifted a similar amount of Bitcoin between addresses that it controls.

Unlike those earlier transfers, Arkham noted that the new receiving wallets are not currently labeled as belonging to the Hawthorne, California-based firm.

A history of significant Bitcoin holdings

Prior to these recent transfers, SpaceX held 8,285 BTC, worth approximately $914 million at current prices, making it the fourth-largest privately held corporate holder of Bitcoin, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.net.

The company’s on-chain history shows that its holdings were once much larger.

In 2022, addresses labeled as belonging to the aerospace firm held as much as 25,000 BTC, but that number dropped to its current level of 8,285 BTC in June of that year.

Following those moves, SpaceX did not register any further on-chain activity until earlier this year, when it began consolidating some of its Bitcoin holdings.

Tesla’s own Bitcoin connection

Another of Musk’s companies, the electric vehicle and robotics firm Tesla, also maintains a strong connection to Bitcoin.

The company currently holds 11,509 BTC, worth more than $1.27 billion, placing it just outside the top 10 publicly traded companies with Bitcoin treasuries.

Earlier this year, Tesla re-valued its Bitcoin holdings based on new accounting rules, a move that allowed it to book more than $600 million in quarterly profits as the price of BTC rose following the election of President Donald Trump.

As of Friday, the price of Bitcoin was down modestly on the day, trading at $110,541.

A representative for SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the purpose of the transfers.