CoinDesk
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy said this week he will hold his bitcoin all the way down to zero rather than sell, after buying near $100,000 and watching BTC peak above $126,000 in October before falling to roughly $63,000. Portnoy, speaking on FOX Business' Varney & Co., framed the decision in blunt terms: "I'm holding. I'll hold this thing down to zero. I know if I sell it, it's going to go nuclear again. I'd rather go down with the ship this time."
Portnoy said he snapped up bitcoin around the $100,000 level and is now sitting on millions in losses. BTC peaked above $126,000 in October last year and has since roughly halved, CoinDesk data show. His exact BTC holdings are not publicly known.
Why it matters
"Yeah, I got regrets. I bought the thing at $100,000. There's nothing I've been wrong about more than Bitcoin. Every time I sell it, it goes nuclear. Every time I buy it, it tanks," Portnoy said. The comments tap into a near-universal retail struggle: selling before rallies, buying before corrections, and trapping oneself on the wrong side of volatile markets. Portnoy's public vow to stop trading the swings and simply hold marks a shift in posture, even if the underlying position is still underwater. Separately at Consensus 2025, Portnoy said the memecoin scene is ultimately unsustainable, signaling skepticism toward the more speculative end of the crypto market even as he commits to holding his BTC.
Market impact
The episode is anecdotal rather than market-moving; Portnoy's holdings are undisclosed and his trades are not large enough to clear the order book. The read-through is sentiment rather than flow: a high-profile retail voice publicly conceding that timing has cost him millions, and choosing HODL over further attempts to time exits. For a market still digesting the 50% drawdown from the October peak, that kind of capitulation-to-conviction arc is a familiar late-stage pattern among long-term BTC holders.
Frequently asked questions
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What did Dave Portnoy say about bitcoin this week?
Portnoy said he will hold his bitcoin all the way down to zero rather than sell, after buying near $100,000 and watching BTC roughly halve from its October peak above $126,000.
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How much has Portnoy lost on his bitcoin purchase?
Portnoy said he bought near $100,000 and is now sitting on millions in losses. BTC has since fallen to roughly $63,000, though his exact BTC holdings are not publicly known.
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What was bitcoin's recent price high and where does it trade now?
Bitcoin peaked above $126,000 in October and has since fallen to roughly $63,000, a drop of around 50%, according to CoinDesk data cited in the report.
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Why is Portnoy choosing to hold instead of selling?
Portnoy said every time he sells, the price goes up, and every time he buys, it drops, so he would rather hold through the drawdown than try to time another exit.
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What did Portnoy say about memecoins?
Speaking at Consensus 2025, Portnoy said the memecoin scene is ultimately unsustainable, signaling skepticism toward speculative crypto even as he commits to holding his BTC.
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