Jordan Belfort, the real-life inspiration for “The Wolf of Wall Street,” presented his first cryptocurrency course called the “mastermind workshop” at his Miami Beach villa for a price of one Bitcoin (BTC) per person, The New York Times reported.
Nine blockchain aficionados and businesses attended Belfort’s cryptocurrency class over the course of a weekend.
Had a great time this weekend at my first ever Crypto Mastermind. Can’t wait to do this again soon- are you coming to the next one? pic.twitter.com/hQn3XRX0Q5
— Jordan Belfort (@wolfofwallst) April 11, 2022
In a video advertising the event, the former stockbroker and convicted criminal said he has been “heavily investing” in crypto and NFTs, which he refers to as the “future of finance.”
In 1999, Belfort pled guilty to scamming over 1,500 individual investors out of $200 million. Belfort became a motivational speaker after spending 22 months in jail and publishing his now-famous book. His TikTok account, @wolfofwallstreet, has over 3.7 million followers.
The latest emphasis on bitcoin, on the other hand, is a sharp departure from Belfort’s prior views on cryptocurrencies, which he voiced in a 2018 YouTube video headlined:
“The Bitcoin Market Has Finally Run Out of Greater Fools.”
During the video, Belfort claims that the rising value of Bitcoin is due to the “greater fool” hypothesis, which asserts that overpriced assets can be sold for a profit as long as a “bigger fool” can be found. That is until the market runs out of people to dupe.
“I know this better than anybody else on the planet… I’m not proud of it, but it’s true. I was the man on the opposite side of it, and I experienced it. I’m aware of what’s going on.”
He then describes cryptocurrency as a “mass delusion,” “frickin’ craziness,” and a “sinking ship.”
Belfort’s crypto workshop was billed as an “intimate financial experience” in which guests would learn about the metaverse, cryptocurrency, and decentralized finance. The attendees were picked from a pool of 600 applicants and reportedly paid a single BTC for a seat at the weekend workshop, which also included activities like jet ski riding, yachting, and supper at Belfort’s home.
Among those in attendance were a crypto-miner from Kazakhstan and the proprietor of an Idaho roofing firm.
Despite his long-held aversion to financial regulation, Belfort previously advocated for “massive regulation” of digital currency in 2021, saying:
“The sooner that big regulation enters the market, the better for bitcoin, stablecoins, and everything else.”
Cryptopunk #6033
wgmi pic.twitter.com/i4e1fa0xOH
— Jordan Belfort (@wolfofwallst) October 25, 2021
Belfort claims to have made significant investments in crypto and NFTs.
On the NFT side, at least, he’s putting his money where his mouth is. In October 2021, Belfort allegedly paid $423,000 for a Cryptopunk NFT, which he now uses as his Twitter profile picture.
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