Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy is under fire after a memecoin venture left investors with losses while he walked away with substantial profits
Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy is facing criticism after a memecoin venture that saw him walk away with significant profits while leaving investors empty-handed.
Memecoin Drops by 99%, Portnoy Pulls the Rug
The controversy erupted when Portnoy launched the $GREED token on the Solana blockchain, acquiring 357.92 million tokens (roughly 35.8% of the total supply) before promoting it on X.
His influence likely played a role in driving investor interest, but shortly after the hype, he offloaded his entire stake, causing the coin’s value to plummet by 99%.
The situation has been described as a classic “rug pull,” a term used in crypto circles when a creator cashes out at the expense of others.
Data from Lookonchain indicates Portnoy’s move netted him a profit of $258,000, while other investors faced heavy losses. One trader in particular lost more than $100,000 in just three hours on February 19, according to LookIntoChain’s monitoring.
Lookonchain further noted, “They used 911 SOL tokens ($153,000) to purchase Greed but sold it for 309 SOL tokens ($52,000), resulting in a loss of 602 SOL tokens ($101,000).”
Portnoy, who condemned the rise of antisemitism on U.S. campuses last December, has a history of short-term trading, dating back to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when he embraced day trading and branded himself as “Davey Day Trader.”
Online Followers Felt Betrayed
His online persona, which he amplified via his fictional trading firm Davey Day Trader Global, recorded a massive growth in the number of followers during this time.
Despite his claims of transparency in the crypto space, Portnoy’s actions have left many of his followers feeling betrayed.
The backlash intensified when he launched a second memecoin, GREED2, only for it to experience a similar fate.
The memecoin’s market capitalization originally went up above the $28 million mark only to drastically drop below $750,000, according to pump.fun data.
“Just launched GREED2. Don’t invest in this collectible coin with more than you can afford to lose. It’ll be volatile,” Portnoy’s X post said.
Some of his loyal fans, known as “stoolies,” are now questioning his integrity, especially given his prior statements disavowing deceptive practices in the industry.
“I’m Not Going Anywhere”
Far from backing away from the memecoin space, Portnoy seems eager to continue engaging in it.
“I’m not going anywhere, I think like this space,” he explained on X. “I think I may even launch a couple coins a day, just for show,” the 47-year-old added.
Portnoy’s decision to dive into the world of memecoins is nothing new under the sun in the last few years, but rather a part of a trend that involves big names in sports betting dabbling in cryptocurrency with disastrous consequences for their faithful followings more often than not.
His reputation in the sports betting world stems from his high-profile wagers and Barstool’s former ties to Penn Entertainment, which has since cut ties with the brand and now partners with DraftKings.
The Swampscott, Massachusetts-born is not alone in facing allegations of misleading crypto investments.
Hailey Welch, best known as the “Hawk Tuah Girl,” decided to launch her own token (HAWK) last year, causing serious financial losses to her investors.
Similarly, former DraftKings personality Taylor Mathis chose to promote a memecoin named after herself, only to see it collapse. The incident may have contributed to her departure from the company.
