Bitcoin spikes 16% to record high after Tesla says it invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency and will begin accepting it as payment

Bitcoin spikes 16% to record high after Tesla says it invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency and will begin accepting it as payment

Bitcoin soared 16% to all-time-highs of $44,795.20 after documents filed with theSEC on Monday revealed that Tesla invested $1.5 billion in the popular cryptocurrency. Shares of Tesla jumped as much as 2%.

The electric vehicle maker said in its annual 10-k filing on Monday that it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in January, and it plans to begin accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment in the near future.

"In January 2021, we updated our investment policy to provide us with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity," the filing said.

Tesla isn't the first firm to convert a portion of its cash into bitcoin, with MicroStrategy adopting that policy over the past year, making it a de facto bitcoin trading vehicle.

Square also acquired $50 million worth of bitcoin last Fall, and PayPal recently opened its services to cryptocurrencies.

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The Tesla filing went on to say, "We may invest a portion of such cash in certain alternative reserve assets including digital assets, gold