Tristan Thompson, former NBA star, shared his thoughts on missed opportunities for earning with Bitcoin. In 2015, he signed a contract worth $82 million, receiving this amount in cash, while the first cryptocurrency was only valued at $270. Estimates suggest that if he had opted for payment in Bitcoin, his wealth today could have reached approximately $32.5 billion.
This is reported by Finway
In a conversation with Cointelegraph Magazine, Thompson noted:
“With what I know now, I would definitely insist on being paid in Bitcoin. It would have been the craziest sports bet in U.S. history.”
At the time of signing the deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers in October 2015, Bitcoin was just beginning to gain popularity.
The impact of market fluctuations on Thompson’s decisions
Thompson also remarked that he is unsure if he could have handled the volatility of the crypto market. He said:
“Who knows how I would have behaved during bear markets or crashes during COVID-19? Would I have had enough knowledge to survive it?”
Despite the missed opportunity, the athlete continues his involvement in the crypto space.
Active involvement in the crypto space
Today, Tristan hosts his own crypto podcast called Courtside Crypto, serves as an ambassador for the Sportsbet.io platform, and works as an advisor for the artificial intelligence project TraceyAI. He actively encourages other athletes to consider investing in Bitcoin, explaining:
“The first thing I tell the guys: start with OG [original gangster] — with Bitcoin. Because when it moves, everything else follows.”
Thompson also cites his NFL colleague Odell Beckham Jr., who in 2021 became one of the first to receive his salary in Bitcoin.
However, despite the popularity of meme coins among celebrities, Tristan firmly refuses to launch personal cryptocurrencies, believing that it carries risks.
“I never want to launch a token with my name. It always comes with a dark cloud,”
he concluded. Thompson also actively follows crypto market news, lamenting that he missed the launch of a token associated with Donald Trump.
Thought leaders in the crypto space predict that the price of Bitcoin could reach $1 million in the next three years, highlighting the volatility and potential of this market.