Dave Portnoy, the founder and owner of sports and popular culture company Barstool Sports, has revealed that he recently bought a total of $1 million worth of XRP.
On top of that, Portnoy also purchased $400,000 of Ethereum (ETH) and $750,000 of Bitcoin (BTC).
According to data provided by CoinGecko, the token is currently changing hands at $2.22, down 9% over the past week.
Not a die-hard holder
In December 2024, Portnoy said he held $1.3 million worth of XRP, along with $1.5 million in Bitcoin.
He described his strategy as "bet it and set it, not trading." At the same time, the entrepreneur admitted he was "always late to these runs."
Portnoy bought another $1 million of XRP during a market dip in early 2025.
In mid-July 2025, Portnoy posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) saying he’d sold his XRP “two weeks ago.”
As reported by U.Today, he sold a roughly $2.40 per XRP, citing advice from someone who originally told him to buy, but was now warning that Circle (the stablecoin company behind USDC) could pose competition to Ripple/XRP.
Portnoy also half-jokingly described himself as the "leader of the XRP army," a statement that many community members found to be rather questionable.
After his sale, XRP surged 60% from his exit point, and Portnoy publicly stated that he wanted to cry.
First crypto exposure
His first serious exposure was in August 2020, when the Winklevoss twins (founders of Gemini) came to his house to explain Bitcoin to him.
On August 13, 2020, he bought his first Bitcoin after their pitch. Shortly after, he publicly declared he was “up $100K in Bitcoin."
However, his views have been inconsistent and rather questionable since then.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team