Written by Adam Tarlowski.

Dave Portnoy, the brash founder of Barstool Sports, has officially entered the world of cryptocurrencies. Following a 10 minute video posted to social media in which he had the Winklevoss twins explain Bitcoin to him, Portnoy proclaimed himself as officially in on Bitcoin and crypto, vowing to send the market to the moon. The natural fear from many crypto market believers is that his recent antics could bring undue regulatory scrutiny and further press a sense of illegitimacy on the space, although this fear seems largely overblown.

While it is too early to predict the outcome definitively, let us try to break down the effect he is having on the market and determine where this could all lead.

The world seems to be vying for Dave Portnoy’s attention. Influencers, traders and CEOs all seem to court him constantly, primarily for their own gain. He has a massive, loyal following and, based on his impact on the stock market, appears to have a legitimate impact in driving people to buy or sell specific stocks. Following the meeting with the Winklevoss twins, Portnoy said, “I still have no idea what Bitcoin is,” while showing more interest in a “DaveCoin” he could pump. Since the meeting last week, Portnoy has posted about Bitcoin and crypto through social media.

But can Dave Portnoy actually move the market? Many were quick to speculate when Portnoy entered the crypto arena that a single tweet or endorsement from him could influence prices. Bitcoin, to be clear, has been in an uptrend for the past 5 months and was in a clearly bullish long-term pattern without his endorsement. His first call for Bitcoin to hit $12K became a reality, but it is very likely it had nothing to do with him. Today, he tweeted about OXT (Orchid), calling it a “Shitcoin” with a “#pump” included in the post. The only profitable traders on this call were those that managed to purchase minutes after the tweet to catch the pump and then immediately proceeded to sell. This was followed by hours of a continued downtrend. It appears likely that Portnoy is testing the waters to determine the scope of his influence in these less regulated, lower volume markets and assets.

As always, we suggest traders be cautious when taking his advice. Portnoy admitted he does not understand the fundamentals of the crypto market and he clearly does not use technical analysis. Could you get lucky, sure. But is it worth it? Probably not.

A further warning of where this could lead to was seen just today, as Portnoy claimed in a Twitter video that, “pump and dumps in crypto are encouraged.” He went on to tell his audience that he won’t reveal what he buys until he “cryptonizes it.” One can only assume this means he won’t publicly comment on a coin until he has purchased at scale in it, which is perfectly fine. Dave Portnoy is an entertainer, and he is extremely good at what he does.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely. In the meantime, stay smart out there.