- Dave Portnoy slammed memecoins as “legalized Ponzi schemes” but admitted dabbling anyway, making $258K off his GREED token.
- Despite exploring crypto, NFTs, and Bitcoin, Portnoy says he still doesn’t fully trust or understand the space.
- He avoided launching a Barstool coin out of concern fans would lose money, calling crypto folks “hilarious” but not always reliable.
They call him “El Presidente,” but Dave Portnoy—Barstool Sports founder and all-around internet wildcard—has a limit. And that limit? Launching his own memecoin for the Barstool crowd. Why? Well, he’s not looking to torch his fans’ wallets.
“I got into memecoins ‘cause I thought it’d be fun to make a Barstool token,” Portnoy told CoinDesk. “But I didn’t wanna be the reason someone lost their shirt.” Memecoins, he says, are basically “legalized Ponzi schemes.” There’s no real value—just vibes. “Get in, get out,” he adds. “Before the thing crashes.” (Quick note: memecoins aren’t actually legalized in the U.S., but yeah, they’re everywhere.)
Now, Portnoy hasn’t dropped a full-blown Barstool-branded token, but that doesn’t mean he’s stayed outta the pool. In February, he launched GREED—a memecoin that briefly flirted with a $41.5 million market cap. Then, according to on-chain data from Lookonchain, he dumped all 357.92 million tokens he was holding (about 35.79% of the total supply) in one big swoop. Price tanked. He walked away with roughly $258K.
Critics lit him up, but Portnoy fired back on X (formerly Twitter): “I warned people I could sell. Coulda made a mil but didn’t. Let it drop 75% before cashing out. Some folks won. Some didn’t. Only the losers keep whining.”
If you’ve followed Portnoy for more than a minute, you know this isn’t new. He dove into stock trading during the COVID era, launching “Davey Day Trader” on YouTube. Strategy? Kinda questionable. But the entertainment value? Off the charts. At one point, he literally pulled Scrabble tiles, spelled out RTX, and dropped $200K on Raytheon.
Crypto? That came next. He says you can’t be in finance or stocks now without crypto being part of the conversation. Still, his track record with bitcoin is rocky: “Every time it rips, I’m on the wrong side of it,” he admits. He’s dabbled in XRP too.
Despite wanting a Barstool coin, Portnoy says he doesn’t really get how to work blockchain or crypto into his business. Barstool did once accept bitcoin donations through the Barstool Fund—but of the $50 million raised to help small businesses, just $30K came from BTC.
“They talked a big game,” he says of the crypto folks who convinced him. “Didn’t really deliver.” Then he throws in a classic Portnoy jab: “Crypto leads the league in telling you what you should do… and in people I don’t trust.”
But it’s not all cynicism. Portnoy has tried it all—memecoins, NFTs (he sold one tied to his “One Bite Pizza Reviews” channel for $138K), and of course, Bitcoin. And while he’s not always sure what he’s doing in the crypto space, he says the people are what keep him curious.
“As much as I go back and forth with the crypto crowd, I actually love ‘em,” he shrugs. “They’re hilarious. Total characters… which I guess makes me one of ‘em.”
