Image via Complex Original/Elijah Justice
Headlines have been dominated by financial news lately, and you may have noticed everyone on your timeline is channeling their inner CNBC analyst. But what exactly is going on? If you’re like me, you may have seen that Redditors made big money off GameStop stock, and that everyone is talking about dogecoin, but you might not know the ins and outs of either story (or what cryptocurrency even is and why so many rappers are getting involved). That’s when it’s best to know what you don’t know and do some research.
NerdWallet calls cryptocurrency “a digital currency that can be used to buy goods and services, but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to secure online transactions.” One can turn their dollars into crypto on any one of a slew of apps, or invest via their own wallet, with each dollar representing a fraction of a particular coin. Like stocks, crypto is worth more or less at any given time based on industry demand. Bitcoin (or BTC) is the most popular cryptocurrency, but there are others like ethereum, litecoin, ripple, NEO, or dogecoin, the hot currency that’s currently valued at $9 billion thanks to the hype train led by Elon Musk and Snoop Dogg.
“[Billy Markus] famously sold all of his dogecoin a long time ago,” reflects Jack Platts, co-founder of Hypersphere, an asset manager in the cryptocurrency space. “He made it as a meme to be ironic about how anyone can make these cryptocurrencies. And now, yeah,” he says incredulously.
Platts started investing in bitcoin during the first crypto boom in 2013, and attributes the current craze to a “confluence” of factors, including a wild pack of Redditors: “The first and biggest [factor] that affects all assets is the central banks and national government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. When the pandemic got going, and they started to make shutdowns, the markets panicked, and people sold. So the central banks and the governments all came together and said, ‘Hey, we need to fix this.’”
He explains that the Federal Reserve started buying “billions of dollars of bonds to make it easier for banks to lend money to each other.” Other factors included the two stimulus checks that the American people received, and the boredom of quarantine that led individual investors to conspire on Reddit.
“So long as they keep injecting trillions of dollars more into the system, you’re going to continue to see people trying to find a home for that money,” Platts says. “Some of it is going to go to people that need it. But a lot of it’s not, it’s just going to go to people who invest in assets.”
Though there’s mass unemployment and an impending eviction crisis, some people are making too much money, and as Platts explains, looking to “transport money to the future that isn’t worth less than it is now.”
Among the people looking to get into crypto are rappers like Meek Mill, who recently called for more people to invest. His Twitter plea came two months after Lil Yachty started his own coin, joining the likes of Ghostface Killah and Akon. While starting a coin and stirring demand could make for a nice “pump-and-dump” opportunity, Platts says that these coins often fail over time because they have no function.
“Unless Gap or Apple is accepting dogecoin, what the fuck are you going to do with these dogecoins?” he says. For now, these types of coins, which are trending but often less functional, make sense for people looking to buy low then sell off to get a huge return after demand raises value.
There’s more long-term viability with other crypto coins. NerdWallet reported that as of late January, the total value of cryptocurrency is equivalent to $897.3 billion, with $563.8 billion of that being bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency. Platts recommends that people take $10 to $100 that they wouldn’t mind potentially losing, then putting it in an app such as Coinbase, Gemini, or Voyager. He notes that there are ways to work around these apps, which merely hold crypto one could acquire with their own wallet, but learning that process takes some studying (and keeping track of a private key). Otherwise, you may end up like the person who lost the key to their wallet reportedly conaining $250 million in bitcoin.
Platts suggests exploring crypto educational resources before investing heavily, such as the Andreessen Horowitz, a16z crypto startup school available for free on YouTube. Once more people become educated and invest properly, the crypto industry will only grow, and maybe the hip-hop world could band together and raise demand for a coin as a community.
That’s what Lil Yachty and Akon are hoping occurs with their respective YachtyCoin and Akoin currencies, though Yachty’s Swiss-based coin can’t be traded in America. Both artists are stepping out in front of the pack and trying to hop onto the trend, not just as investors, but full-fledged crypto players in their own right. Hopefully they have more success than Ghostface Killah and ODB in their 2018 coin ventures. Akon’s coin, meanwhile, has a stronger chance to succeed because it will be used in his Kenyan Akon City, whereas most cryptocurrencies can’t currently be used to purchase anything.
Crypto, like stocks, is heavily based on demand, which means rappers are ideal spokespeople to bring attention to a coin and pump the value up, which could mean boons for them and lucky investors. Snoop Dogg, for example, was recently a catalyst for the record-rise of dogecoin by sharing a meme.
Artists aren’t just keeping the coins to themselves, either. Jay-Z and Megan Thee Stallion have both donated bitcoin to everyday people, giving others a chance to invest without any financial risk. Our non-comprehensive list—in chronological order from earliest to latest instance—reflects that artists are investing and advocating for crypto, and some are even starting their own coins.
Nas
What you need to know: Nas declares that we’re entering the bitcoin age
Nas is pretty private about his personal life, but we know he’s been involved in venture capitalism over the past decade. He’s also interested in bitcoin, which he told Coindesk in 2014 “will evolve into an industry as big, if not bigger, than the Internet.” The rapper reportedly used BTC as the prize for a contest he held on theraptest.com. It’s unknown how much, if anything, Nas has invested into BTC, but he explained to Coindesk that it “isn’t of the Internet age, bitcoin is its own age.”
Nipsey Hussle
What you need to know: In 2017, Nip signed on with a crypto company looking to do right by people
True to the late Nipsey Hussle’s communal ethos, his foray into crypto sought to teach other people as well. He said that he perceived crypto as “karma” for the banking industry’s “crooked model,” and signed a partnership agreement with cryptocurrency company Follow Coin in August 2017. Follow Coin proclaimed, “Our goal is to lower the barriers of crypto investment markets by providing tools and services that make interacting, handling and trading crypto coins easy.” It doesn’t appear that the service is still active as a crypto company, though we’re sure Nipsey would have still found a way to help make crypto more accessible if he were still here.
Wu-Tang Clan members
What you need to know: Both Ghostface Killah and ODB’s estate tried to triumph with crypto
In 2017, Ghostface Killah sought to capitalize off one of the group’s most known hits, partnering with Cream Capital and announcing a “Cream” cryptocurrency. The coin launched in November 2017, selling for as low as $0.02 per coin. It hit a high of $0.12 in January of 2018, before plunging 96.3% in July of 2018. The lack of news since then indicates that the coin wasn’t successful, and has been taken off the market.
In 2018, ODB’s estate launched “Dirty Coin,” a cryptocurrency using the unique Wu-Tang rapper’s branding. In a statement, ODB’s son Young Dirty said, “Bitcoin is the future of money and all the fans want a part of the future of Ol’ Dirty Bastard.” But again, the coin never took off, as there isn’t any news about it since its 2018 release.
50 Cent
What you need to know: News broke that 50 Cent had a bitcoin stash worth $7.8 million—then he didn’t
In 2018, TMZ reported that 50 Cent had earned 700 bitcoins from sales of his 2014 Animal Ambition album, which at the time were worth $7.8 million. He posted the story on his Instagram account, noting he “forgot” he had made the album available for purchase via bitcoin. But the spectre of him having millions in crypto didn’t bode well for his then-ongoing bankruptcy case. A month after the news broke, he filed a document to the court stating that the coins were converted into dollars in 2014, which would have “only” netted him about $460,000—still a nice haul. Queens get the coin.
Logic
What you need to know: Logic made a smart investment in bitcoin which is already paying off
Logic made one of the rap world’s largest documented investments into crypto when he purchased $6 million worth of bitcoin last November. He took to his Instagram Live to tell his rabid followers about his purchase, punctuating the news with “YOLO.” Entertainment site filmdaily.co speculated in November that the rapper-producer could have already made $2 million to $3.3 million in profit from the investment, since bitcoin has been surging of late.
Akon
What you need to know: Akon is the face of Akon City, and has his own cryptocurrency to fund it
As crypto expert Jack Platts stated earlier in the piece, most celebrity-backed cryptos fail because they have no functional purpose. There’s not a lot of long-term value in a currency that can’t be used to purchase anything. Akon is vying to change that with the Akoin crypto, which will be in use in the Akon City he’s creating in Kenya. For now his team has built the Mwale Medical and Technology City (MMTC) in the area, which principal investor Julius Mwale says will exclusively be using Akoin by the end of 2021.
Lil Yachty
What you need to know: Yachty sails into the crypto sea with YachtyCoin—but Americans can’t invest
Last December, Lil Yachty announced that he was partnering with Swiss crypto startup Fyooz to create his own YachtyCoin currency. Though Yachty’s home base is America, the hope is that he has some international appeal, because Fyooz announced that, “Star Tokens may not be purchased and traded by US citizens, green card holders, or residents of the United States of America.”
Megan Thee Stallion
What you need to know: Meg gave away $1 million in bitcoin
Megan Thee Stallion has one of the most ardent fanbases in the rap game—in part because she looks out for them when she can. Last December, the Houston rapper gave away $1 million in bitcoin in tandem with Cashapp for her #BitcoinMeg initiative. Bitcoin.com reported that lucky recipients got 43,000 sats and 50,000 in bitcoin, which is equivalent to $9.78. Who knows how much that could grow to in time?
Meek Mill
What you need to know: Meek is learning about crypto, and wants to put everyone on
It’s no secret that Meek Mill is about a dollar. But at 33, it looks like the Philly rapper is looking to diversify a bit. Earlier this year, Meek tweeted, “I need everybody that rock wit me to learn about stocks and crypto currency!!!!!! ASAP!!!!!!,” then asked billionaire financier Mike Novogratz to start a Clubhouse room teaching people the ins and outs of crypto. It’s unclear if that room will happen, but as of last week, Meek was looking to have his application approved on the Robinhood stock and crypto app. We’re looking forward to hearing some crypto bars on his next project.
Snoop Dogg
What you need to know: The Dogg may have helped doge get high
As we recently chronicled, Snoop Dogg is a branding master. His mere proximity to a brand can help boost its visibility and value exponentially. Don’t believe us? Ask those who got rich off dogecoin. Last Saturday, Snoop tagged doge-advocate Elon Musk in a tweet featuring a photo of him as a Shiba Inu (the symbol of dogecoin) on his R&G album cover. The joke helped stir a serious surge for the coin, as crypto publication Coindesk reported that dogecoin jumped 55% over the next 24 hours (reaching an all-time high), and also jumped four spots on the most valuable cryptocurrency list. Hopefully Snoop invested in it himself before the tweet.
Jay-Z
What you need to know: Jay-Z and Jack started a 500 bitcoin endowment
Just last week, Jay-Z partnered with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey to put 500 bitcoin (currently worth $23.6 million) into an endowment initially aimed at supporting those in Africa and India. Jack tweeted last Friday that they started the trust endowment and are seeking board members to oversee the “blind irrevocable trust” that takes “zero direction” from either party.