In the high-speed environment of professional basketball, where every move is calculated to the most precise degree, a lapse of attention has paved the way for one of the most fruitful financial opportunities for Kevin Durant. The NBA star and highly regarded player has an unlikely story of Bitcoin as an investment that continued to rise because he could not access it. This is a story shared by his agent Rich Kleiman at a recent conference, sponsored by CNBC, and exemplifies how the up-and-down nature of the cryptocurrency market can deliver unexpected benefits of a “hands-off” investment.
A Serendipitous Start to a Digital Journey
Durant’s first experience with digital assets was prompted not by a playbook-driven strategy but by an impulsive conversation. Nearly ten years earlier, while playing for the Golden State Warriors, Durant had attended a dinner in which the word “Bitcoin” was said multiple times. The pleasant conversation brought a sense of curiosity leading to a desire to invest immediately. Kleiman recalled, “I just heard the word ‘Bitcoin’ 25 times that dinner, and we went the next day to start investing.” Kleiman’s statement is a story demonstrating that Durant’s business endeavors are often born from curiosity as well as merely being in the right place at the right time, a trait that has spurred his success beyond basketball.
The Unstoppable Rise of a “Locked” Asset
The investment, made in the range of a few hundred dollars per coin, was largely set and forgotten. The problem, as Kleiman humorously explained, was that Durant lost his Coinbase account login details, making it impossible to sell or even check the balance. For most people, this would create a great deal of stress, but it ultimately became a blessing in disguise. Bitcoin’s initial trading price of around $360. Nonetheless, it’s now valued at more than $115,000. For Durant, forgetting the password meant he would be forced to hold the asset for the better in the long run, in a manner that ultimately became one of the most lucrative play methods for early cryptocurrency investors. This “forced holding” created a situation where he would not consider selling the asset into dips or during moments of heightened volatility to profit. Instead, he allowed the asset to mature as an investment, ultimately turning it into a greater fortune.
A Growing Trend Among Athletes and Public Figures
Durant’s situation is indicative of a broader movement of athletes and celebrities living in and championing the crypto space, including through investments, partnerships, and receiving salaries in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Others have taken big hits, like the now infamous collapse of FTX, while Durant’s experience is a positive mitigated experience with assessing cryptocurrency as an investment means. His story showcases how sometimes a passive and long-term view can prevail over active trading. Increased attention from prominent individuals certainly adds a layer of increased mainstream credibility for digital assets, making them impossible to ignore as part of contemporary financial existence.
The Power of a Simple Mistake
Durant and his business partner understand the irony. The result of forgetting a password is remarkable, something that no number of financial expertise would have told them would happen. While Durant’s firm, Thirty Five Ventures, has partnered with and closely worked with Coinbase, regaining access to his account was not an uncomplicated user-end process. Coinbase has since confirmed it has been working to help him, signifying that even for larger investors the security and access to an account can be tricky.
Durant’s lost Bitcoin isn’t only a sensational story about wealth, it’s a meaningful and familiar lesson for someone thinking about the crypto market. It teaches us that for a very volatile asset sometimes the best approach is to simply buy and hold, regardless of whether that holding is accidental or intentional.
