Tesla HODLs Bitcoin — But Sticks To Dogecoin-Only Crypto Payments Policy

Electric car maker Tesla Inc TLSA continues to hold on to Bitcoin BTC/USD but only accepts Dogecoin DOGE/USD for making purchases.

What Happened: Tesla’s fourth-quarter financials revealed that, for the second quarter in a row, the electric car maker neither bought nor sold any of its Bitcoin holdings. This is despite the sharp market turbulence in November and December, triggered by the collapse of FTX. 

In an FAQ, Tesla says it only accepts Dogecoin: “Tesla cannot receive or detect any other digital assets. Ensure you are making your purchase with Dogecoin. Sending any other digital assets may result in the assets being lost or destroyed. Non-Dogecoin digital assets sent to Tesla will not be returned to the purchaser.”

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The company reported that its total digital assets held by the end of December 2022 were $184 million, a decrease of $34 million from the previous quarter due to the dip in the price of Bitcoin between September and December of last year. 

In May 2021, Musk suspended Tesla purchases with Bitcoin citing environmental concerns. 

Later, in March 2022 Musk said that Tesla merch could be bought with Dogecoin and he will soon add SpaceX merch as well. In February 2022, he announced that the company's supercharging station will accept Doge as payment.

Price Action: BTC was trading at $23,159 up 2% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.

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