Dave Portnoy buys $2M in crypto amid a sharp Bitcoin downturn. | Credit: Getty Images.
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Key Takeaways
Dave Portnoy bought $2 million in crypto, with major allocations to XRP, Ethereum, and Bitcoin.
The industry has had a field day pointing out Portnoy’s history of poorly timed trades.
Eric Trump, however, called the move a “smart trade.”
Dave Portnoy, the outspoken founder of Barstool Sports and famed pizza reviewer, is again back in the crypto spotlight and has sparked worry across the community.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Nov. 18, Portnoy revealed he bought $2 million worth of crypto during the recent market pullback.
Portnoy framed the move as a classic contrarian play, but it has been met with pushback due to his historically unlucky timing in the crypto market.
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“Last night I bought $2,000,000 in crypto,” he wrote on X. “When there’s blood in the streets I’m like a Great White Shark #DDTG.”
In a video, Portnoy noted there had been a “dip in the market” and that he had been waiting until Nov. 17, when he got “two million entries into this contest.”
Crypto Community Responds
Portnoy’s announcement, which has been viewed over two million times, has been met with a highly mixed reaction.
While many were quick to joke about the purchase — referencing Portnoy’s past misfortunes in the crypto market — others applauded the move.
The most high-profile response came from Eric Trump, who reshared the announcement and called it a “smart trade.”
Eric Trump approved of the purchase | Source: X
This sparked another round of industry satire, with traders sharing memes of declining charts and weak sentiment.
Memers were quick to react | Source: X
Some also referenced Portnoy’s post from 2020, in which he declared he “owned zero Bitcoin” shortly before the market rallied significantly.
In July, Portnoy also shared that he had sold all of his XRP just two weeks before the asset surged 60% to $3,642.
“I would’ve made millions, and I want to cry. I don’t own it anymore. Even though I was like the leader of the XRP army, I sold it.”
Crypto Downturn
Portnoy’s purchase comes as Bitcoin extended its decline this week, falling more than 13% and slipping below $90,000, a level it has not touched since April.
According to Citi’s analysis, wallets holding more than 1,000 Bitcoin have continued to fall even as smaller retail addresses increase.
Valdrin Tahiri, a crypto analyst at CCN, said Bitcoin had been flashing warning signs for weeks.
Bitcoin’s latest downturn is mirroring the early stages of previous market reversals, Tahiri wrote.
He noted that last week’s drop pushed BTC beneath its 50-week moving average, a level it had held throughout the current cycle.
The last time this occurred was in January 2022, which preceded a deep market unwind where the token lost roughly two-thirds of its value.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
