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Dave Portnoy Says He'll Hold Bitcoin Until Zero After Missing Every Rally

Barstool founder Dave Portnoy admits he's timed bitcoin wrong repeatedly but vows to hold through any further losses.

Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, is doubling down on a losing bitcoin strategy — and he's not hiding it. After publicly botching bitcoin's timing more than once, Portnoy says he plans to hold his position all the way to zero if that's what it takes. That's either conviction or stubbornness, and the crypto crowd has plenty of opinions on which one it is.

Portnoy has a long, messy history with bitcoin. He's bought near tops, sold near bottoms, and made those moves loudly on social media for the world to see. For retail traders watching from the sidelines, his track record reads like a textbook example of emotional, headline-driven investing — the exact behavior that burns most people in volatile markets.

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What makes this latest declaration interesting isn't the bravado — it's the psychology. Portnoy is essentially committing to a no-sell rule after a series of badly timed exits. That's a strategy some long-term bitcoin bulls would actually endorse, even if the reasoning behind it is more frustration than conviction. Holding through drawdowns is how early adopters built generational wealth in crypto. It's also how plenty of latecomers got wrecked.

For active traders, Portnoy's saga is a real-time case study in why entry price and emotional discipline matter more than the asset itself. Bitcoin doesn't care about your cost basis. It doesn't care when you bought, when you sold, or how loud you were about it online. The market rewards patience and punishes panic — and Portnoy has demonstrated both ends of that spectrum in very public fashion.

Whether his hold-to-zero pledge turns into a diamond-hands win or a cautionary tale depends entirely on what bitcoin does next. Either way, it's appointment viewing for anyone who's ever made an impulsive trade and refused to admit it. Continue reading at CoinDesk.

Continue reading at CoinDesk →

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.What is Dave Portnoy's bitcoin strategy?

Portnoy says he plans to hold his bitcoin position all the way to zero rather than sell again, after admitting he has mistimed the market repeatedly.

Q.How many times has Dave Portnoy gotten bitcoin's timing wrong?

According to the source, Portnoy has mistimed bitcoin on multiple occasions, buying and selling at the wrong moments and doing so very publicly on social media.

Q.Why does Dave Portnoy keep investing in bitcoin despite losses?

Portnoy has not given a detailed fundamental reason; his latest commitment appears driven by frustration with past mistimed exits rather than a clear long-term investment thesis.

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