By
Tolu Ajiboye
April 23rd, 2024
As Bitcoin continues to grow in adoption and general popularity, some celebrities are getting involved by purchasing and promoting the asset.
Digital currencies are gradually increasing their impact in the mainstream financial market. With an entire market capitalization of $2.48 trillion, a growing number of sectors are now utilizing crypto. Traditional financial institutions, including banks that were formerly averse, are incorporating crypto into their client offerings. Over the years, tokens like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have dominated the crypto space garnering popularity along the way. Lesser-known coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Litecoin (LTC) are also beginning to draw some attention.
Furthermore, usage of blockchain technology is now at an all-time high as more market players buy NFTs. Many individual players, including celebrities, are also getting involved with NFTs and digital currencies in general. The following are some celebrities who own Bitcoin.
Elon Musk
The Tesla CEO regularly tweets on a wide range of digital currencies, including Bitcoin. In January this year, Musk made news when he added the Bitcoin moniker to his Twitter bio. This caused the price of the prominent token to surge by 25%. Musk also famously announced earlier in the year that Tesla purchased $1.5 billion worth of BTC. This represents 7.7% of Tesla’s gross cash position and about 15% of its net cash position. The general consensus is that Musk owns only 0.25 BTC given to him by a friend a long time ago. In early 2021, Musk’s involvement with lesser-known crypto Dogecoin, caused it to spike at the time.
Jack Dorsey
The CEO of Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) and Square (NYSE: SQ) is a known Bitcoin devotee. His affinity for the asset dates all the way back to 2017. Dorsey regularly touts Bitcoin as the future world currency and has been gradually increasing his stake in crypto.
In October 2020, Square purchased 4,709 BTC under his watch. Furthermore, Dorsey can mine and verify transactions on the BTC blockchain through a node that he owns and runs.
Floyd Mayweather Jr
Arguably the most famous and charismatic professional boxer of his generation, Mayweather also has a sizable BTC stake. In 2017, the undefeated, now-retired champ tweeted that he was in Beverly Hills spending his Bitcoin wealth. At the time, Mayweather even jokingly suggested that his new name was “Floyd ‘Crypto’ Mayweather.” However, sometime in 2018, the SEC fined him alongside DJ Khaled for promoting an illegal initial coin offering.
Mike Tyson
Tyson notably foresaw the potential in BTC earlier than most other celebrities. In 2015, the former heavyweight boxing champ was part of the digital revolution, partnering with Bitcoin ATM manufacturers. BTC ATMs even notably bore his facial tattoos as part of its promotional gimmick. In addition, Tyson collaborated with Bitcoin Direct to launch a mobile BTC wallet.
Maisie Williams
Williams’ first foray into Bitcoin was in late 2020 after asking her Twitter followers for insight on purchasing the token. The tweet garnered more than 900K responses, the majority of which advised her not to buy. However, the actress already seemed resolute to buy and went ahead to do so.
Kanye West
Grammy award-winning rapper and producer, Kanye West expressed support for BTC on the Joe Rogan podcast stating that Bitcoiners “are the true liberation of America”. West further said that Bitcoin created a pathway through which the next frontier of humanity could evolve. However, it is not clear how much BTC Kanye West owns.
Mark Cuban
The Dallas Mavericks billionaire owner seems to have an on-again-off-again relationship with Bitcoin. With a $4.2 billion net worth, Cuban once advised people to invest 10% of their portfolio in BTC. He later backtracked and said he would rather own bananas than Bitcoin.
Cuban revealed his BTC holdings in April 2020 which was only $135 at the time ($635 now). His basketball team, the Dallas Mavericks, accepts Bitcoin payments for tickets, processed via BitPay since 2019.
The above examples show that BTC holds a lot of value in the eyes of influential people. Although it is uncertain when crypto will see global mass adoption, there is considerable hope going by the current metrics.