Jordan Belfort – most commonly known as the Wolf of Wall Street – has the tendency to pop whenever Bitcoin enters a slump. The convicted fraudster – a tag he proudly promotes might we add – makes sure that his anti-Bitcoin message is heard, even if it is rarely acknowledged. Unsurprisingly, as Bitcoin moves through rocky waters, Belfort is doing the media rounds once again. This time around he’s calling Bitcoin investors “brainwashed,” with these comments probably not coming as a surprise to anyone.
Belfort Doesn’t Back Bitcoin
Looking a Belfort’s backstory, he’s a pretty notorious white-collar criminal, as his penny stocks and boiler room scams are infamous – earning him the Wolf of Wall Street nickname. For this reason, it seems that whenever Bitcoin drops in value Belfort is invited on numerous shows to discuss the crypto market. In his latest interview with CNBC, he said that Bitcoin will hit rock-bottom by the end of the year in a “bust heard around the world”.
Using the Same Tired Argument
As per usual, the reason behind his Bitcoin forecast is the “it takes a scammer to spot a scam” argument – you will have almost certainly heard him use this reasoning before. “I was a scammer. I had it down to science, and it’s exactly what’s happening with bitcoin. The whole thing is so stupid, these kids have gotten themselves so brainwashed,” said Belfort. He also labeled Bitcoin a “mirage,” believing that lots of investors are likely to get “slaughtered” by a future crash.
Yusko Bites Back
Belfort has repeated this argument time and time again since Bitcoin entered the mainstream, for many it has become pretty tiring to listen to. Even though the likes of current Wall Street trader Bart Smith back Bitcoin, Belfort remains at odds with the cryptocurrency. Unsurprisingly, Belfort’s comments have now irked some of Bitcoin’s leading voices – including Morgan Creek Capital CEO Mark Yusko, who has moved quickly to not only discount Belfort’s most recent comments, but also his aptitude when it comes to understanding what exactly Bitcoin is.
During his appearance on Power Lunch – another CNBC show – he was played a clip of Belfort’s recent attack on Bitcoin, in which he said that there was “no good reason” for it even to exist. Turning the tables on Belfort, Yukso fired back, exclaiming that Belfort is out of its depth when it comes to talking about Bitcoin. He even when as far to say that Belfort didn’t have any idea what he was talking about, stating that he had an “ignorance and lack of understanding of the basic technology”. Backing up his statements, Yukso declared Bitcoin to be the most secure network and the largest computer network in the world – 7,500x more powerful than the current most powerful supercomputer.
Belfort Remains an Enemy of the Bitcoin Community
Belfort isn’t particularly well-liked in the crypto community and for good reason. So, it’s great to see someone as esteemed as Mark Yukso come out on a mainstream platform such as CNBC and shut down his flimsy arguments. Sadly, given Belfort’s hunger for the spotlight, he will likely reappear spouting more of his anti-Bitcoin rhetoric in the weeks, months, and years to come.
