The Wolf of Wall Street, a man who made and lost his fortune trading penny stocks, is the author of two best-selling books which inspired a Hollywood blockbuster movie. He’s a great motivator, and with the lessons he learned the hard way with him through this new era of digital prosperity. Jordan Belfort is a great role model for anyone considering entering the world of cryptocurrency. He’s come full circle, from skeptical of crypto to believer in its potential, and is a great spokesperson and influencer on crypto.
In 2017, Jordan Belfort was highly skeptical and critical of Bitcoin. He claimed it was a “pump and dump” scheme lacking in substance. At the time, he was right, but one year later, the huge crash at the end of the year proved him wrong. He knows full well what market manipulation looks like, having experienced it first hand and having served almost 2 years in prison as a result.
When the price collapsed at the end of the year, the biggest reason why Jordan’s skepticism changed into positive belief was because he was able to see the positive regulations surrounding cryptocurrencies. He was astonished that so many ‘influencers’ get away with pumping and dumping useless coins without impunity, and he believes that there will come a time when the paper trail will catch up with them and they will be held accountable for their actions. He even suggested that the perpetrators serve jail times of at least 5 years.
One of the biggest factors influencing his skepticism at the time was the lack of clear regulations around Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. At the time it was not a viable long-term plan when one could move large amounts of money around without any government accountability. He believes that even more regulations surrounding cryptocurrencies will result in mass global adoption, making prices soar even higher.
Fast-forward four years, and Belfort has become a crypto bull who is excited about Bitcoin’s short-term prospects and has been HODLing on to his crypto assets long-term. He predicted that Bitcoin would reach a value of $100k back in April, before Elon Musk’s comments caused the currency to lose almost half of its value. This hasn’t appeared to phase his belief too much, as it gave him an opportunity to buy on the dip.
He was critical of Elon Musk, not so much for his comments, but for the way he promoted the hype and spearheaded the global pumping & dumping of DOGE coin. The lack of clearly defined regulations regarding crypto market manipulation leaves the door open for abuse with no shortage of people willing to take advantage for their own personal gain.
Belfort remains highly critical of ICOs where new & unproven coins offer investors the ‘opportunity’ to buy before anyone else while offering all sorts of unsubstantiated claims regarding the coin’s potential and future value. This then leads to mass dumping of the coin once enough people are on board and is a very common practice in the crypto world, one which remains unregulated. The ICO craze has in fact, gotten out of hand with ICO’s using marketing tactics to pump up the value of their coins which leaves many investors with empty wallets and empty promises.
The digital asset space, however, has a lot of potential, and Mr. Belfort is optimistic about the future of NFTs. Mr. Belfort recently bought CryptoPunk #6033 and is considering investing in BAYC. He’s also working on a collection inspired by his Wolf of Wallstreet days. He’s currently pondering what added utility value he can offer buyers.
The Wolf of Wall Street definitely knows a thing or two about investing and has had unique life experiences which give him a better insight into the industry than your average person. He certainly has enough experience and believes in the potential of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. It remains to be seen how governments regulate not only cryptocurrencies but those who profit from them dishonestly. Whatever the case may be, Jordan Belfort is in it for the long term and will buy on any future dips.