decrypt.co
In brief
- Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy said he's down millions of dollars on Bitcoin as the top coin falls.
- Portnoy admitted he's never gotten anything "more wrong" than the leading cryptocurrency.
- In 2021 he famously "paperhanded," or panic sold, some of his Bitcoin after a price drop.
Barstool Sports founder and media personality Dave Portnoy knows he’s not an expert crypto trader—but that’s never stopped him from trying over and over again for several years now.
This week, Portnoy told Fox Business host Stuart Varney that he’s down millions on Bitcoin, the top crypto asset by market cap, as it has fallen more than 50% from its October all-time high of $126,080 to a recent price of $62,162.
“Yeah, I’ve got regrets,” Portnoy told Varney about his crypto trading experience. “I bought the thing at $100,000, so I mean, right now, I don't know what’s going on.”
Bitcoin and crypto are making me sad.
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 4, 2026
Portnoy provided an honest assessment of his storied history with crypto trading, which includes moments where he “fucking paperhanded,” or panic-sold his Bitcoin in 2021 after a drop in the price.
“There’s nothing I've been wrong about more than Bitcoin,” he told Varney. “Every time I sell it, it goes nuclear. Every time I buy it, it tanks.”
Despite the consistent downward price action for Bitcoin and other top crypto assets in recent months, Portnoy said this time he’s just holding his ground.
“I’m just holding. I’ll just hold this thing down to $0,” he said. “I know if I sell it, it’s going to go nuclear again.”
“I’d rather go down with the ship this time,” Portnoy added.
Portnoy’s crypto history extends beyond Bitcoin, though, previously championing controversial meme coins like SafeMoon (SFM) while also declaring himself a proud member of the Link Marines, a community of investors that support LINK, the native token of the oracle network Chainlink.
Last year, Portnoy got deeper into Solana meme coins, frequently trading in the trenches alongside other risky traders. After doxxing his wallet and earning criticism for allegedly “pumping and dumping” meme coins, Portnoy embraced JAILSTOOL, a meme coin promoted with imagery that depicted his face behind bars.
“Hey crypto bros, I think whoever made this coin is funny and I want to collect it as a memory of you bitches crying like little babies,” he said.
The token surged to a market cap above $210 million and earned a listing on centralized exchange Kraken. But as of Friday, the token is down more than 99.5% and trades just above a $1 million market cap.