Bitcoin sailed to another record high after Tesla purchased $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency.
In early trading on Monday, Bitcoin surged to $44,795 before retreating to just over $43,000 in early afternoon. It was still priced about 30% higher than a week ago.
Tesla disclosed its Bitcoin purchase in a 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which also said Tesla expects to begin accepting Bitcoin as payment for its products “in the near future.”
Initially such payments, which Tesla “may or may not liquidate upon receipt,” would be on a limited basis, and the payments would also be subject to applicable laws, according to the SEC filing.
Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin reflects an “updated our investment policy,” which was disclosed in the filing as policy that provides the company with “more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns” on cash holdings not required for purposes of operating liquidity. The audit committee of Tesla’s board of directors approved the new investment policy, which also allows some cash to be invested in other alternative assets such as gold bullion and gold ETFs.