SpaceX has transferred 1,308 Bitcoin, valued at around $153 million, in its first on-chain transaction in three years.
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence flagged the movement, which involved consolidating BTC from 16 Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash (P2PKH) addresses into a single SegWit-compatible address (P2WPKH).
This type of transfer can help simplify fund management and reduce future transaction fees. The reason behind the move hasn’t been confirmed, but the method suggests a planned adjustment rather than a sudden reaction.
SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, first revealed its Bitcoin holdings in July 2021 alongside Tesla, as part of a broader strategy to diversify assets and support the crypto ecosystem.
Trump X Musk and A Wave of Uncertainty
In early June, reports said that the U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration considered reviewing or canceling up to $22 billion in SpaceX contracts. This was reportedly due to a public dispute between Trump and Elon Musk on the social platform X. The incident raised concerns about SpaceX’s future relationship with the U.S. government.
Adding to the pressure, the Pentagon today said it will bring in more companies to help with the Golden Dome project, a $175 billion space-based missile defense system. According to Reuters, U.S. officials are worried about depending too much on SpaceX, so they’re now opening the project to other space providers.
The decision to move Bitcoin could be part of SpaceX’s effort to organize its funds more efficiently, especially during this uncertain period.
Elon Musk’s Crypto Journey: From Hype to Strategy
Since the 2021 Bitcoin boom, Elon Musk’s connection to crypto has taken many turns. Early on, his tweets praising Dogecoin caused the memecoin’s price to skyrocket, until he joked about it on “Saturday Night Live”, causing a sudden 30% drop.
- In 2021, Tesla, owned by Musk, bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and even started accepting it as payment. But the company soon reversed the decision, citing concerns about Bitcoin’s environmental impact, and later sold part of its holdings.
- In 2022, after Musk bought Twitter and renamed it “X,” he began shaping it into more than just a social app. X got licenses to move money across U.S. states, and its code hinted at a built-in crypto wallet. While no crypto features have launched yet, long-term plans still include blockchain integration.
- In 2024, investor Chamath Palihapitiya revealed on a podcast that SpaceX uses stablecoins to accept Starlink payments in developing countries. “They don’t want the hassle of bank wires, so they use stablecoins instead,” he explained.
Now, SpaceX is believed to hold around 6,977 Bitcoin, worth over $815 million, making it one of the largest corporate holders of BTC, quietly building its position in the background.