Bitcoin reaches all-time high after Tesla discloses $1.5 billion purchase

Tesla has invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin and revealed plans to accept the cryptocurrency as payment in "the near future."

The company disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday that it purchased $1.5 billion of bitcoin, noting that it may invest "in certain alternative reserve assets" as part of its updated policies, CNBC and Reuters report.

"We expect to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which we may or may not liquidate upon receipt," the filing said.

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Bitcoin's price climbed to a new high on Monday after the announcement from Tesla. In its fourth quarter earnings report, the company said it had $19.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents, according to The Associated Press.

The news, CNBC wrote, "raised immediate questions around CEO Elon Musk's behavior on Twitter recent weeks" after he expressed support for bitcoin and dogecoin, which both saw their prices increase. Musk last month added "#bitcoin" to his bio on Twitter and during a recent Clubhouse chat said he is "a supporter of bitcoin," also predicting it's "on the verge of getting broad acceptance by conventional finance people."