EPFMK: Wolf Of Wall Street Says Bitcoin Could Hit $50K Before Crashing

Jordan Belfort, known colloquially as the “Wolf of Wall Street”, has yet again cast doubt on Bitcoin, this time in a video interview with entrepreneur Patrick Bet-David, posted on Bet-David’s Facebook Jan. 31.

Belfort told Bet-David that he doesn’t believe Bitcoin (BTC) itself is a scam, referring to it as the creation of “financial anarchists”. He does think, however, that the way the cryptocurrency was built is a “perfect storm for manipulation”.

Belfort believes that the rising price of BTC can be attributed to wild speculation because of what he sees as improper use of the cryptocurrency:

“Something [BTC] was designed to be used as a currency, and it’s being used as an investment vehicle [...] As a currency, Bitcoin is no more useful at $20,000 or $100.”

Belfort spoke negatively about the potential for manipulating crypto markets due to the thinness of the market, specifically referencing the case of Olaf Carlson-Wee, an early adopter of BTC who was paid in crypto when working at Coinbase in 2013.

According to Belfort, Carlson-Wee sold all of his Bitcoin, bought Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and then gave a televised interview saying that BTC was dead and that Bitcoin Cash was the future, causing its price to skyrocket.

CT could not confirm that Carlson-Wee ever mentioned dumping all of his BTC for BCH, although he did give an interview to CNBC about Ethereum that some Reddit users misconstrued as Carlson-Wee moving all his holdings to Ether.

Belfort predicts that while Bitcoin is, in his words, a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” it also “might go to $50,000” before what he is certain will be its eventual fall to zero.

In September 2017, Belfort had said that Bitcoin was problematic because of the potential ease for hackers to steal virtual currency. In October, he commented that ICOs were the “biggest scams ever”.

Belfort told Bet-David he had invested “not a penny” in cryptocurrency.