Many people in the world came to know about crypto during its peak value in early 2018, and everyone wanted a piece of the pie. Celebrities were no exception to this and were quick to get into the crypto wagon. Here are nine celebs who are known to have advocated and invested in cryptocurrencies.
50 cents
The famous rapper, 50 cents, made millions from bitcoins accidentally. To become more prominent among his fans, 50 cents accepted bitcoins for his 2014 album: Animal Ambition, and then completely forgot about it.
At the time, the value per bitcoin was a mere $660. He earned nearly 700 bitcoins, and during the late 2017's bull run, his bitcoin stash was worth nearly fourteen million USD. Even after the crypto bubble burst in early 2018, it was worth around seven million dollars.
Gwenyth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow is hugely well known for her role as the girlfriend of Iron Man in the Marvel franchise. She is also a well-known advocate of bitcoins and cryptocurrency.
During an episode of Planet of the Apps, the bitcoin-based startup Abra was successful in pitching their wallet idea to Gwyneth, who was among a panel of four members hosting the show. She then joined Abra as an advisor.
Mel B
Melanie Brown, a.k.a. Mel B made history as the first musician to accept Bitcoins for her then-new Christmas single For Once in My Life in 2013. She set the trend for all artists to come.
Widely known as the celebrity judge on America's Got Talent, she advocated cryptocurrencies to her fans, saying: "Bitcoins unites my fans around the world using one currency." She partnered with CloudHashing, a bitcoin-mining company and even offered discounts to fans who bought her album using bitcoins.
Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher is a celebrity both in Hollywood and in the tech world due to his numerous tech investments. He is a well-known advocate of cryptocurrency and even tweeted about it in 2014. Ashton invested in various crypto firms and startups including BitPay and Bitcoinup.io.
Moreover, he created hype in the crypto world and elsewhere when he donated around $4 million worth of Ripple's XRP tokens to The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund. He even spoke on the show about how easy it was to transfer crypto, saying, "All we have to do is push a button."
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss
The twins are extremely tech-savvy are also well-known for suing Mark Zuckerberg (News - Alert) over claims that Mark stole their idea for the social media platform. They are huge advocates for crypto and even invested in many bitcoin-based startups.
However, they are most renowned for their $11 million investment in bitcoins, in 2013. As the value of bitcoin skyrocketed, they became the world’s first bitcoin billionaires.
Mike Tyson
The former heavyweight boxing champion is a massive advocate of bitcoin. In 2015, he launched his own bitcoin ATM franchise, dubbed "Mike Tyson Bitcoin." The franchise garnered fame, partly because his facial tattoo was embedded into each ATM unit.
Moreover, he launched a bitcoin-based wallet in partnership with Bitcoin Direct back in 2016. He is a proponent of the crypto culture and believes that it will become mainstream in the near future.
Bill Gates
In an interview in 2014 with Bloomberg (News - Alert), Bill gates explained how "Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don't have to be physically in the same place and, of course, for large transactions, currency can get pretty inconvenient."
Despite having a bearish attitude towards cryptocurrency, he admires the concept behind cryptocurrency and is a huge advocate of the decentralized system. He also believes that cryptocurrency can help provide the most deprived people with access to financial services by lowering the cost of transactions and financial products.
Kanye West
Kanye West, widely considered as one of the best rappers in the world, garnered hype all around the world when he tweeted the word "decentralize" in 2018. Though he had not invested much in cryptocurrencies, his tweet and radio show made crypto fans and advocates go weak in the knees. He significantly bolstered the attitude of the public towards cryptocurrency.
Snoop Dogg
Long before the crypto bubble, Snoop Dogg understood the future of bitcoins. In 2013, his fans could also buy his new album with bitcoins at 0.3 BTC each. Though it is unclear how much he earned in bitcoins, his stash (pun intended) could have been worth millions of dollars during bitcoin's peak era.
This shows the importance of cryptocurrencies in the financial arena. Although some celebrities invested in bitcoins during peak popularity, some pragmatic ones set the trends for others and hopped on very early in the game. Some started their own ICOs, and others invested in bitcoin-based platforms.
