Musk once called Bitcoin his biggest crypto bet, here's what $1 billion invested would be worth today

On July 21, 2021, Elon Musk sat on a panel at The B-Word virtual conference alongside Jack Dorsey and Cathie Wood and made his most specific public statement about Bitcoin to date.

Bitcoin was his largest cryptocurrency holding, above Ethereum and Dogecoin. He had no plans to sell. And he was not playing both sides.

"If the price of Bitcoin goes down, I lose money," Musk said, according to CNBC. 

"I might pump, but I don't dump. I definitely do not believe in getting the price high and selling or anything like that. I would like to see Bitcoin succeed."

According to the data, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $32,000 on July 21, 2021.

The $1 billion calculation

If Musk had invested $1 billion in Bitcoin on the day he made that statement, at $32,000 per coin, he would have acquired approximately 31,250 BTC.

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At today's Bitcoin price of approximately $77,000, according to Decibel, those coins would be worth approximately $2.406 billion, a return of 140.6% on a $1 billion investment in five years.

Bitcoin price at press time. Source: Decibel

Musk never disclosed the exact size of his personal Bitcoin position. He confirmed in October 2021, in a separate interview covered by CNBC, that he owns Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, and nothing else. "That's it," he said.

What his companies actually hold

While Musk's personal position remains undisclosed, his companies' Bitcoin holdings are on the record. As per the data, SpaceX holds 18,712 BTC worth approximately $1.441 billion at today's $77,000.

Tesla holds 11,509 BTC worth approximately $886 million. Combined corporate Bitcoin: 30,221 BTC worth approximately $2.327 billion.

The conviction check

Bitcoin has not been a smooth ride since July 2021. It crashed as low as $15,476 in November 2022, during the FTX collapse.

Anyone who bought at $32,000 in July 2021 was deeply underwater for over two years.

Bitcoin is trading at approximately $77,000 today, up 140.6% from the day Musk called it his biggest crypto bet.

His statement and his behavior have been consistent. The $1 billion hypothetical says the same thing the price does.

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