As the cryptocurrency continues to increase in value, so do the number of investors that have already reached millions and are expected to grow for the upcoming years. With the bitcoin value that has recently climbed above $50,000 since May 2021 (for the first time in three months!), the crypto world has definitely advanced into a faster phase. Well, if that is how much profit you could get, wouldn’t it be a smart investment?
That is definitely the reason why more and more investors and even popular personalities and athletes have jumped on the bandwagon, claiming this digital currency as the future. As they have engaged in various cryptocurrencies, some have been pulling a lot of people on board, advocating this financial change across their social media platforms.
With that being said, who are the popular personalities who have already invested in cryptocurrency?
Just sit back and don’t skip a beat! Let us find out who they are!
15Ashton Kutcher
Right before bitcoin or cryptocurrencies took off to popularity in the financial industry, Ashton started the bitcoin investments more than eight years ago, not to mention his wife, Mila Kunis, has also never been happier with these investments despite her initial skepticism. In 2014, he endorsed Ethereum on his Twitter, and has also invested in BitBay, the largest cryptocurrency platform in Central-Eastern Europe. In addition to that, he invested in Unikrn, a crypto eSports betting digital platform, through his firm, Sound Ventures in 2015.
14Maisie Williams
In November 2020, Maisie’s interest in the cryptocurrency world sparked when she took to Twitter for a poll on whether or not she should buy some bitcoins. With 53.4% of her followers advising not to go for it, the response was a clear NO.
However, the Game of Thrones actress seemed to have made up her mind regardless of what the results would be and went on for another tweet saying, “thank you for the advice. I bought some anyway.” Well, what else can you expect from the tough, strong, and independent princess Arya Stark? With the current bitcoin value of more than $50,000, Maisie’s probably not having any regrets with her investments right now!
13Akon
R&B singer, Akon, has more than just crypto investments. Well, he founded his own cryptocurrency called, Akoin, which is innovatively developed to bolster entrepreneurship and provide opportunities for the youth and entrepreneurs in Africa. While that seems already quite revolutionary, Akon has also been pushing through his plans for his cryptocurrency-powered smart city in Senegal, Africa, known as the Akon City.
Apparently, that’s what Akoin is all about – One Africa. One Koin, which aims to fuel the economy of Africa using Akoin as the primary currency of Akon City. With its futuristic goals to establish an unrivaled rising economy and render an optimistic approach to fortify businesses, promoting a crypto-fueled city might pave the way to a better Africa. Perhaps, it could be a “real-life Wakanda” after all, as Akon calls it.
12Serena Williams
Professional tennis player, Serena Williams, made the headlines when she and her husband Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, invested in Lolli, a bitcoin rewards startup company. Lolli has raised $5 million, thanks to the funding round led by her husband’s capital firm, Seven Seven Six as well as hers, the Serena Ventures, along with other popular YouTubers.
The main goal of the company is to improve the accessibility of bitcoin, thereby promoting financial boost and financial inclusion, which is what Williams also believed so. She said that owning and earning bitcoin forges a path to financial inclusivity for everyone. In her Instagram post in 2019, she also revealed her investment in a cryptocurrency company, Coinbase.
11Michelle Phan
Beauty guru and YouTuber, Michelle Phan, knew about bitcoin back in 2011 when her viewers were not yet at their peak. But when she started making millions from her subscribers and outstanding YouTube views, she thought of branching out her holdings. One of which is through investing in bitcoin, which she thought has the same concept as the beauty industry.
Phan believed that Bitcoin is the decentralization of power, which is why integrating it into her business seemed to be a no-brainer. Like Serena Williams, Phan invested in a bitcoin rewards company, Lolli, while she continues to promote bitcoin across her social media channels. According to her, this allows her loyal followers to protect their purchasing power and indulge in financial freedom.
10Lionel Messi
When Argentine professional footballer, Lionel Messi, endorsed Sirin Labs, the developer of an ultra-secure blockchain smartphone, through his social media platforms, his post was abuzz with some bitcoin queries and shared the excitement with their partnership. Aside from this endorsement, Messi’s support for the crypto world did not cease when he has recently announced the launch of his own NFT crypto art collection, Messiverse.
In addition to that, Messi received cryptocurrency fan tokens as part of the signing fee at Paris St Germain, which was estimated to be equivalent to 25 to 30 million euros or $29 to 35 million.
950 Cent
When it comes to huge bitcoin investment success stories, 50 Cent is definitely one of them. Even before cryptocurrencies skyrocketed to popularity, the rapper made a daring move back in 2014 to put his album “Animal Ambition” on sale in exchange for a whole bitcoin. It had earned about 700 bitcoins or around $460,000 total earnings.
At that time, the bitcoin value was just about $662. Several years later, the bitcoin value had increased and reached a staggering amount of $8,000,000, making him a multi-millionaire in 2019. But now that one bitcoin has a current value of $50,000, just imagine how much 50 Cent could have earned today!
8Paris Hilton
Media personality and socialite, Paris Hilton, was revealed to be a bitcoin investor when she talked about her first NFT in March 2020, which had also won the NFT Charity Award. She shared her excitement about investing in bitcoin and believed it to be the future.
To show her incessant support for bitcoin, Hilton also replaced her profile picture across her social media accounts, showing her picture with laser beam eyes. This conveys action and campaign of the growing power of bitcoin, hoping to raise its value to $100,000.
7Jay-Z
Jay-Z along with Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, launched a Bitcoin fund named ₿trust in February this year. The duo reported to have invested 500 Bitcoin, which was equivalent to $24million during that time, and with the goal to promote bitcoin as the internet’s currency.
Furthermore, this Bitcoin fund is an irrevocable trust that targeted the adoption of cryptocurrency in India and Africa, particularly as India had been reluctant about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and even had the plan to implement a ban on private cryptocurrencies. But with Jay-Z and Dorsey’s investment, who knows, India might probably adopt cryptocurrency eventually.
6Kanye West
Kanye West talked about his massive support for bitcoin during a podcast interview with Joe Rogan in July 2020. He mentioned that bitcoiners depict “the true liberation of America” as well as the perspective for what humanity will be. Although it was not yet confirmed whether the American rapper owns bitcoin or any cryptocurrency investments, there was a tip that West is likely to invest at least $100million worth of bitcoin this year.
5Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss
Also known as the Winklevoss twins, Harvard graduates Tyler and Cameron bought Bitcoins worth $11 million back in 2013, and became billionaires in 2017 when the bitcoin value skyrocketed. You may probably remember them as the ones who sued Mark Zuckerberg, claiming that he stole their idea for the social network platform. This year, bitcoin has more than $50,000, making the twins far richer than before. Aside from that, they also have cryptocurrency investments in Ethereum.
4Snoop Dogg
Just like 50 Cent, American rapper, Snoop Dogg, had been a long-time fan of cryptocurrency probably way before the others. Back in 2012, he sold his music in exchange for BTC, tagging each album with a price of 0.5 bitcoins or equivalent to around $25,000 bitcoin value today. During that time, the bitcoin value had rallied to only $12.56. Thus, each album was probably around $6.28.
Although it was not mentioned how much he earned or the total sales during that time, the famous rapper did not seem to halt the support for the crypto world until today. He believes that bitcoin or the blockchain technology is “here to stay”.
3Mike Tyson
It was in 2015 when former professional boxer, Mike Tyson, showed his support in bitcoin even when the value was fluctuating between $200 to $300. He shared that he was grateful to be part of the revolution. He has also been associated with Bitcoin wallets and ATMs, namely Bitcoin Direct. In 2016, he also revealed his cryptocurrency wallet for IOS and Android users.
2Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey is probably that one loyal friend who stays with you through all the ups and downs – well, at least he is for Bitcoin. Despite the unfortunate collapse of the crypto market in 2018, Dorsey was quite nonchalant about the whole situation, seemingly brushing off the currency plummet for years and rather claiming that cryptocurrencies are the future and greater financial access for everyone. He believes that Bitcoin could be a resilient global currency that can boost and speed up business operations and transactions from one market to another.
With Dorsey being a Bitcoin maximalist and advocate, this billionaire investor spends a massive outlay of investments for Bitcoins every week. Furthermore, his financial service company, Square, has already adopted these crypto exchanges under Cash App, and expanded the bitcoin market to all users, allowing them to buy and sell bitcoins directly.
The Twitter CEO has also recently hinted about an integration between Twitter and Lightning Network, which will bolster payment protocols for the blockchain-based cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
1Elon Musk
Popularly known as the owner of the multi-billion dollar company, Tesla, Elon Musk was not quite a believer of cryptocurrencies at first. Surprisingly, his support for the digital currency as a modern alternative to conventional paper money gradually increased when he thought of Bitcoin as brilliant, although he only owns 0.25 BTC, which his friend had sent him a few years ago.
However, the entrepreneur and business magnate announced that his company, Tesla, invested in Bitcoin amounting to $1.5 billion, which is actually over 7% of Tesla’s gross income and about 15% of the net income. Aside from that, Musk announced that Tesla may continue accepting cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, as a form of payment as long as his conditions are met, pertaining to at least 50% of renewable energy usage should be maintained and be used to mine for cryptocurrency.