9 Celebrities who have invested in BitCoin

Wind back the clock just a few years, and the subject of cryptocurrency was such an unbelievably foreign concept to the vast majority of people. However, due to the recent mass hysteria around the topic, crypto wallets have exploded in popularity.

Of the available crypto wallets, BitCoin has emerged as the most popular, and has seen its intrinsic value increase to a mouth-watering $64,128 as of February 2021. Due to its rapid rise in popularity in recent times, it is unsurprising that a multitude of celebrities have purchased this digital currency. This article will detail 10 notable celebrities that own, or have owned BitCoin at some point in their lives.

1. Bill Gates

While he does not currently hold a position in BitCoin, tech tycoon Bill Gates recently proclaimed that he once received BitCoin as birthday gift. However, due to long term concerns about the viability of blockchain technology, he later sold his BitCoins; Gates believes that these digital tokens lack intrinsic value, and does not like the fact that this currency is traded on a decentralised platform.

2. Elon Musk

In February of 2021, Elon Musk took a monumental gamble, as he invested over $1.5 billion of Tesla’s spare cash in BitCoin in an attempt to ‘diversify & maximise’ its return on cash. Fortunately for Musk, this enormous transaction seems to have paid off – Due to the price of BitCoin raising at an obscene rate, it is estimated that the Tesla CEO has made an unrealised profit of about $1 billion.  

Intriguingly, it has been speculated that Tesla will begin accepting BitCoin as payment for cars in the near future, suggesting that from a business standpoint, Musk is a supporter of blockchain technology.

3. Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss

Often remembered for suing Mark Zuckerberg over claims that he stole the idea for Facebook, the Winklevoss twins recently became the world’s first ‘BitCoin billionares’; After investing in 2011 when the cryptocurrency was valued at a lowly $120, they have seen their net worth absolutely rocket in the past years. Additionally, they hold an optimistic view regarding the price of BitCoin in the future, with the brothers estimating that the value of one of these digital tokens could hit $500,000 one day.

4. Snoop Dogg

Back in 2013 when BitCoin was virtually unknown, rapper Snoop Dogg actually made one of his records available to purchase via BitCoin; There was an option to buy one copy of his album for 0.3 BTC, which would be equivalent to roughly $19,300 at the time of writing. It is estimated that the American made a great deal of cash from these transactions, though exact figures are unknown and are merely the result of speculation.

5. Mel B

Just like Snoop Dog, British artist Mel B began accepting BitCoin as payment for her Christmas single in 2014. She was very optimistic when speaking about potential of the cryptocurrency, saying ‘I love how new technology makes our lives easier, and to me that’s exciting. Bitcoin unites my fans around the world using one currency’.

6. 50 Cent

The third and final artist on this list, 50 Cent also began to accept BitCoin as payment nearly a decade ago, and allowed fans to purchase his 2014 album ‘Animal Ambition’ with the cryptocurrency. Stunningly, it was recently reported that he received 700 BitCoins as payment for this album, which would be equivalent to $7-8 million as of 2021.

7. Mike Tyson

The legendary heavyweight boxer was a part of a select group of celebrities who realised the potential in BitCoin before it gained widespread popularity. In fact, Tyson went a step further, producing his own ‘Mike Tyson BitCoin ATM’ which is available for public use in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the time, this ATM was considered to be revolutionary due to the fact that it was the first of its kind – Members of the public could use the machine to purchase the digital token by using their BitCoin wallets.

8. Serena Williams

Tennis star Serena Williams is an avid investor of cryptocurrencies; Her investment company, Serena Williams Ventures, has a portfolio of over $12 billion, and has been known to invest in various crypto wallets including BitCoin.

9. Ashton Kutcher

Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher is a notoriously big tech investor and crypto fan. In 2013, long before the BitCoin boom, Kutcher stated that cryptocurrencies were becoming ‘more and more relevant’. It is therefore unsurprising that Kutcher holds or has held investments in various blockchain companies, including BitCoin.

With a multitude of A-list celebrities boasting investments in BitCoin and other blockchain technologies, it would appear that the revolution is in full force. With this being said, due to numerous concerns about BitCoin & cryptocurrency in general, it is still unclear as to whether this technology will one day be adopted by the wide majority as oppose to a select few of wealthy investors.

If you enjoyed this article, you should check out this blog detailing how Elon Musk became the second richest person in the world.