Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX moved $257 million worth of Bitcoin, its second large-scale transfer in three months, prompting speculation about a potential sale as the company faces mounting financial and political pressure.
SpaceX transferred the Bitcoin (BTC) on Tuesday, marking the company’s first wallet movements since July.
The SpaceX-labelled wallet “1MDyM” transferred $130 million worth of Bitcoin to address “bc1qj,” while another SpaceX wallet “1AXeF” sent $127 million in Bitcoin to address “bc1qq,” according to data from blockchain intelligence platform Nansen.
The two receiving addresses haven’t transferred or sold the Bitcoin, nor has SpaceX commented on the reason for the transactions.
The wallet movement marks SpaceX’s second transfer in three months after the aerospace company moved $153 million worth of Bitcoin in July, its first fund movement since 2022.
Cointelegraph has approached SpaceX for comments on the reason behind the Bitcoin transfer.
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While Elon Musk has recently touted Bitcoin for its energy-based, inflation-proof economic model, the billionaire’s relationship with the cryptocurrency industry has been complicated.
Musk’s SpaceX first disclosed its BTC holdings in July 2021, alongside electric car manufacturer Tesla, which purchased $1.5 billion worth of BTC earlier that year.
In May 2021, Tesla suspended Bitcoin payments for vehicle purchases, citing environmental concerns, which caused Bitcoin’s price to drop by 6% within an hour, from $54,800 to $51,600.
While Tesla hasn’t sold most of its Bitcoin holdings, the carmaker has yet to comment on reinstating Bitcoin payments, as Musk previously pledged to do if the mining network’s use of renewable energy expanded.
Bitcoin mining’s sustainable energy usage has reached an all-time high of over 55%, according to the above graph modeled by climate tech venture capitalist Daniel Batten and Bitcoin analyst Willy Woo.
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SpaceX faces growing pressure as NASA opens moon lander contract
SpaceX’s Bitcoin holdings have received increased attention as the aerospace company faces growing political and financial pressure.
On Monday, NASA’s acting chief, Sean Duffy, said that his agency will open the moon lander contract to other competitors beyond Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has experienced delays in its Starship lunar lander timeline.
“We are competing with China, so we need the best company to let us land on the moon as soon as possible. SpaceX has won a contract to build HLS, but the progress is slow,” said Duffy in a CNBC interview on Monday.
SpaceX entered into a $4.4 billion agreement with NASA in 2021, which included a 2027 moon landing deadline through the firm’s fully-reusable Starship vehicle.
Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin are expected to bid for the same contract, as SpaceX’s main competitors.
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