Spare a thought for these celebrities who only wanted to make a quick buck in the bull, but find themselves bleeding heavily during the bear.
Tom Brady
@WatcherGuru
Tom Brady and his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen bet big on FTX. Both signed equity deals with the platform last year and later invested $650 million. They also became ambassadors, with Bündchen taking the role of Environmental and Social Initiatives advisor. Not only is the equity and cash gone, but Brady is being sued as part of a class action suit by disgruntled investors.
Michael Jordan
Released in March, Michael Jordan’s ‘6 Rings’ NFT collection on Solana arrived just in time for the Terra Luna collapse and subsequent folding of Celsius, 3AC and many more. Things got even worse when FTX went under. Solana plummeted in the aftermath, causing Jordan's NFTs to lose approximately 90% of their value.
Justin Bieber
Sympathy isn’t high.
At a time when all the big celebrities were doing it, Justin Bieber paid 500 ETH ($1.3 million) for BAYC #3001. Since then, the market has dragged its value down to around $70,000 - a loss of nearly 95%. Gwyneth Paltrow also sustained heavy losses after a poorly timed BAYC investment.
Stephen Curry
NBA’s Stephen Curry shilled FTX hard, even dressing up as a mime and sculpting a BAYC from ice in one advert. Curry was paid in equity, which is now nearly (if not completely) worthless. Much like Tom Brady, he also faces potential lawsuits for encouraging people to invest. At least the tagline for Curry’s ad turned out to be true: “Crypto. You’ll never be bored. #NotAnExpert.”
KSI
As well as predicting that Bitcoin will one day be used as standard currency, KSI also promised to give everyone £100 of BTC if he ever becomes Prime Minister. Unfortunately, he also went big ($2.8 million big) on LUNA shortly after it crashed, expecting a rebound that never came.
Bonus Round: Coachella
@_Kaspar_
Not a celebrity per se, the Coachella Music and Arts Festival is nonetheless a natural habitat for the global rich and (mostly) idle. This year the festival partnered with FTX to auction 10 lifetime passes valued at $1.5 million. The passes sold out but were stored on the exchange, where they are now stuck, with users unable to access them. Coachella admits to having no “lines of communication with the FTX team."
