At Consensus 2025, Dave Portnoy—President of Barstool Sports and internet sensation—sparked new excitement in the crypto world. Known for his outspoken and unpredictable takes, Portnoy took center stage with his thoughts on #bitcoin $BTC and XRP, boldly suggesting that XRP might just be “the next Bitcoin.”
#XRP $XRP $ Gains Traction Amid Market Hype
What stood out most was Portnoy’s surprising support for XRP. He openly revealed that he’s holding XRP, highlighting the current wave of market FOMO (fear of missing out) around the token. Portnoy admitted his investment isn’t based on deep technical analysis or belief in XRP’s fundamentals. Instead, he's riding the hype, not wanting to miss out if XRP follows a similar path to Bitcoin’s early success.
Interestingly, he’s not alone in this bullish view. Prominent crypto attorney John Deaton previously made headlines by predicting that XRP could even surpass Ethereum in market cap before the year ends.
Portnoy compared XRP’s current situation to Bitcoin’s early days—an underdog asset that’s starting to gain major attention. With XRP trading around $2.30 and showing signs of explosive growth (especially after a $782 million whale transaction pushed it past $2.60), the token is certainly on many investors’ radars.
From Meme Coins to Missed Opportunities
Portnoy also pointed to the broader crypto market sentiment, particularly the rollercoaster of meme coins. He noted how much investor behavior right now is driven by emotion—mainly greed and FOMO—rather than fundamentals.
He shared a personal story that shaped his crypto perspective: once losing out on a Miami apartment to a “crypto bro” who likely got rich by buying Bitcoin early, back when it was just $7–$8. Whether that buyer paid in BTC or cashed out first didn’t matter. What stuck with Portnoy was how real the wealth in crypto had become—and how missing the boat once made him more determined not to let it happen again.
His Journey in Crypto: Lessons and Comebacks
Portnoy's crypto journey began in 2020 when the Winklevoss twins encouraged him to buy Bitcoin. He also bought coins like Chainlink (LINK) but sold quickly after a dip—a mistake he now admits. Fast forward to 2024, and he was publicly ready to invest $10 million into Bitcoin if the price ever fell to $40,000. That never happened, though—Bitcoin has continued climbing and is now trading at over $102,000 according to CoinMarketCap.
Institutions are getting involved too. One notable example: Top Win International rebranding as AsiaStrategy, now adding Bitcoin to its treasury holdings.