American electric car maker Tesla announced on the 25th (local time) that it had a valuation loss of 223 billion won from holding Bitcoin in the first half of this year.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Tesla filed a report on the same day with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In the report, Tesla said, “It has recorded an impairment loss of $170 million in its bitcoin holdings over the six months of this year.”
Under US accounting regulations, virtual assets (cryptocurrency) such as bitcoin are classified as intangible assets, and if the price falls from the time of purchase, it must be treated as an impairment loss. In other words, when the price rises, it is not reflected, and when the price falls, it immediately affects the income statement.
However, Tesla also reported that it made a profit of $64 million (about 84 billion won) by selling bitcoin in the second quarter.
The media explained, “We cannot determine the exact size of the loss because we do not know at what point Tesla bought and sold Bitcoin.”
Earlier on the 20th, Tesla announced that it had sold 75% of its bitcoin holdings when it announced its second quarter earnings.
Reporter Lee Ji-young, Bloomingbeat, jeeyoung@bloomingbit.io