Bitcoin Surpasses Tesla Market Cap... Is It Becoming Mainstream?

Bitcoin Rises to 7th in Global Asset Rankings, Surpassing Tesla, Facebook, and Samsung

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Following Tesla's announcement of its Bitcoin purchase, Bitcoin's market capitalization has surpassed that of Tesla. In particular, as Tesla announced plans to use Bitcoin as a payment method, experts' forecasts diverge on whether Bitcoin should be recognized as a mainstream asset for both investment and payment.

According to global asset data platform AssetDash on the 11th, Bitcoin recorded a market capitalization of approximately $871.4 billion (about 965 trillion 755 billion KRW), ranking 7th among global assets. Tesla, with a market cap of $815.4 billion, was pushed down to 8th place. Bitcoin has thus established itself as a larger asset than Facebook, ranked 9th, and Samsung, ranked 14th.

Tesla's disclosure of purchasing Bitcoin worth $1.5 billion acted as a positive catalyst for Bitcoin. According to the U.S. economic media CNBC, Tesla submitted a report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 8th (local time), stating, "We updated our investment policy in January this year to diversify assets and maximize cash returns," revealing the Bitcoin purchase.

As a result, Bitcoin's price rose, and its market capitalization surged. According to CoinMarketCap, which tracks global cryptocurrency market conditions, Bitcoin's closing price was about $38,903 on the 7th but surged to $46,196 on the 8th. Market capitalization also increased from approximately $724.5 billion to $860.3 billion within a day.

Most notably, Tesla's plan to use Bitcoin as a payment method has led to forecasts that Bitcoin could become mainstream. According to the report Tesla submitted to the SEC, it plans to allow customers to purchase Tesla electric vehicles using Bitcoin in the future. This is the first case of a major automobile company recognizing Bitcoin as a payment method.

Mohamed El-Erian, Senior Advisor at global insurer Allianz, said, "Tesla has recognized Bitcoin as both an investment and a payment method," predicting, "Tesla's decision will be a game changer." Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives also explained, "Bitcoin's utility could increase in the future."

However, there are counterarguments that Bitcoin is unlikely to become a payment method due to volatility issues. According to U.S. economic media Bloomberg, JP Morgan downgraded Tesla's decision, saying it would not have a significant impact. JP Morgan pointed out that the annual price volatility of bank deposits, money market funds (MMF), and short-term bonds, which typically make up corporate financial portfolios, remains around 1%, but adding Bitcoin greatly increases volatility. According to Bloomberg, the average daily volatility of alternative asset gold this year was only 0.8%, whereas Bitcoin's was 5.2%.