Dave Portnoy, the well-known president of Barstool Sports and a popular internet personality, recently attended the Consensus 2025 blockchain and crypto event. During the event, he shared his thoughts on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, XRP, and meme coins, and how he sees their potential in the future.
Portnoy shared a funny but interesting story from his past. He once tried to buy an apartment in Miami, but got outbid by someone who made a lot of money from Bitcoin. According to Portnoy, this person bought Bitcoin early, when it was priced around $7 to $8, and had become wealthy over time. Portnoy joked that while he had been working hard for 20 years, the other guy made more money just by investing in Bitcoin at the right time. He didn’t say if the person used Bitcoin directly to pay for the apartment or if he sold the Bitcoin for cash to buy it. Still, the story shows how early crypto investors have gained massive wealth, sometimes outpacing long-time workers.
Portnoy admitted he felt a bit of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)— a common emotion in the financial world where people feel they are missing great opportunities. He said there was FOMO during the early days of Bitcoin, but now that Bitcoin is well-known and established, that feeling has faded. However, he believes the same FOMO is now happening with XRP, a digital coin that’s been around for years but recently gained more attention. He even admitted that this FOMO is the main reason he bought XRP. Portnoy doesn’t claim to have a deep belief in XRP’s future, but he said that at its current low price — about $2.30 — it reminds him of Bitcoin in its early days.So, for him, investing in XRP is a chance to catch the next big thing before it possibly explodes in value.
Portnoy’s crypto journey started in 2020, when he bought Bitcoin and other coins like Chainlink (LINK) after talking with the Winklevoss twins— known Bitcoin advocates. But when prices fell, he got nervous and sold all his holdings. Later, by 2024, his views changed again. He publicly said that if Bitcoin ever dropped to around $40,000, he would use $10 million from his Barstool Sports profits to buy Bitcoin. This shows that despite past hesitation, he now sees crypto as a serious investment.
Recently, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of over $109,000, although it has gone down since then. Around ten days ago, it bounced back to over $100,000, showing how fast and wild the crypto market can move. These huge price changes are a big part of why people feel FOMO — they worry they’ll miss out on the next big jump.
To summarize, Dave Portnoy is now betting on XRP, not because he deeply believes in it, but because he sees a chance to gain big returns, just like early Bitcoin buyers did. His personal story shows how powerful the fear of missing out can be, and how it still drives decisions in the crypto world today. Whether XRP will really become the “next Bitcoin” is still unknown, but Portnoy’s experience and bold statements have once again caught the attention of both fans and investors.