Former NBA star Tristan Thompson spoke about the lost opportunity to earn $32 billion by choosing cash over Bitcoin. In 2015, the athlete signed a contract worth $82 million, receiving the amount in dollars, while Bitcoin was only priced at $270.
This is reported by Business • Media
In a recent interview, Tristan admitted that he still doesn’t know how much he could have earned if he had been paid in Bitcoin. “With what I know now, I would definitely have insisted on being paid in Bitcoin. It would have been the craziest sports deal in U.S. history,” he noted.
Bitcoin Value and Impact on Financial Freedom
At the time of signing the contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers in October 2015, the price of Bitcoin was around $270. If Tristan had been paid in Bitcoin, its value today would be nearly $32.5 billion. This amount could have turned him into a billionaire.
However, despite the missed opportunity, Thompson does not plan to launch his own cryptocurrency. “I never want to launch a token with my name. It always comes with a dark cloud. Too many celebrities have come here just to make money, not to help develop the industry,” he emphasized.
The Crypto Sphere and Personal Investments
Tristan Thompson is actively involved in the crypto sphere: he hosts the podcast Courtside Crypto, is an ambassador for the crypto betting platform Sportsbet.io, and is an advisor for the artificial intelligence project TraceyAI. The athlete also tries to raise awareness about Bitcoin among his NBA peers.
“The first thing I tell the guys: start with OG [original gangster] — with Bitcoin. Because when it moves, everything else follows,” he explains.
Thompson also mentioned that he keeps an eye on the cryptocurrency market and invests, recently expressing regret over missing the launch of the TRUMP token associated with Donald Trump: “I was just having dinner with Anthony Edwards when the token dropped. I didn’t see the notification and really regretted it.”
“The price of the first cryptocurrency is predicted to reach $1 million in three years.”