The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reports that Tesla has invested $ 1.5 billion in bitcoin, citing the interest of greater flexibility to diversify and maximize returns on its cash reserves, has led many people to reconsider its relationship with cryptocurrency, its potential and future prospects. . Tesla says it understands bitcoin price volatility, but says it will start accepting bitcoin payments for its vehicles, making it the first major car company to do so.
That a large company makes such an investment in a cryptocurrency is nothing but controversial, but it reflects the normalization of bitcoin as a speculative value, a gamble that only makes sense if it is understood that, in the future, it will eventually become a transactional security. The recent bullish evolution of Bitcoins makes it difficult to assess Tesla's move, but it allows those with idle resources, be they companies or individuals, to make investments.
“In January 2021, we updated our investment policy to give us more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash that are not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity. As part of the policy, which was duly approved by the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors, we may invest a portion of such cash in certain alternative reserve assets, including digital assets, gold bars, gold exchange traded funds and others. assets as specified in the future. Thereafter, we invested a total of $ 1.50 billion in Bitcoin under this policy and you can acquire and hold digital assets from time to time for the long term. "
In the case of a publicly traded company, the decision is certainly provocative to the extent that Tesla shareholders could, if they wished, decide to invest in bitcoin on their own rather than accept the risk associated with their investment in the stock. business. Musk's move will affect the price of bitcoin, in the same way that anything he does has huge repercussions. At the moment, Tesla's bullish performance, which rose almost 2% after the announcement of the decision, seems to indicate that investors are interpreting the move positively.
With the price of bitcoin already breaking records above $ 56,000, governments are embedding cryptocurrencies in assets they are trying to control, and with well-known bitcoin whales advocating a future value of the cryptocurrency at around $ 500,000 or $ 100,000 alone By the end of 2021, a large company taking a strong position in bitcoins or soccer players negotiating to pay part of their salary in bitcoin and multiplying their income in the process can only be seen as the normalization of the phenomenon, and a growing temptation for many investors. Under these conditions, the criticism that many people made of the cryptocurrency just a couple of years ago seems to have been overshadowed by the tangible reality of its value.
We are facing the normalization of an asset, bitcoin, that most people do not understand, seeing it as an opportunity for speculation, added to a popularization that involves more and more players of all kinds. The decision of figures like Elon Musk or major companies like Tesla is simply one more step towards normalization.