[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, denied that Tesla sold any Bitcoin, but Bitcoin continues to plunge.
On the night of the 16th (local time), Musk wrote on his Twitter account, "To clarify speculation, Tesla has not sold any Bitcoin."
About 10 hours earlier, he had ambiguously replied "indeed" to a tweet by the user 'Mr. Whale.'
'Mr. Whale' wrote, "Bitcoin investors will regret it next quarter when they find out Tesla disposed of the remaining Bitcoin holdings," adding, "Hatred toward Musk is growing, but I will not blame Musk."
Following Musk's "indeed" comment, market speculation that Tesla would sell Bitcoin intensified, causing Bitcoin prices to plummet.
Immediately after Musk's response, which seemed to hint at additional Tesla Bitcoin disposals, the price per Bitcoin dropped more than 8%, falling below $45,000 (approximately 51 million KRW), marking the lowest level since February.
Then Musk clarified that Tesla had not sold any Bitcoin.
Nevertheless, Bitcoin prices remain on a downward trend. According to the cryptocurrency site CoinDesk, as of 4:40 PM Korean time on the 17th, Bitcoin is trading at about $44,890 per coin.
Last month, Musk was also criticized as a "traitor" after it was revealed that Tesla had disposed of some Bitcoin.
Tesla had announced on February 15 that it purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, fueling the cryptocurrency frenzy. However, in last month's Q1 earnings report, it disclosed that it sold $272 million worth of Bitcoin investments.
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