The real-life ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Jordan Belfort keeps bashing on bitcoin. Once in a Facebook interview with a businessman Patrick Bet-David, he suggested bitcoin would soar to $50,000 before finally crashing to zero.However, Belfort never called it a fraud but a phenomenon which appeared as a result of “storm manipulation.”
But it seems that Belfort has changed his views. In a recent conversation with CNBC journalist, the former scammer (yes, the ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ admits he used to dupe his clients back in the 1990s), claimed bitcoin can lead to scamming.
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"I was a scammer. I had it down to science, and it's exactly what's happening with bitcoin. The whole thing is so stupid, these kids have gotten themselves so brainwashed," said Belfort.
Past vs. Present
In the past, Belfort spent around two years incarcerated for deceiving investors. He ran a brokerage house in the U.S. and was making investors go for purchasing stocks which turned out to be worthless. Belfort pleaded guilty.
Now Belfort is working as a motivational speaker and is predicting that bitcoin will “evaporate like a mirage.” He even claims lots of honest people will suffer from it.
Not a Scam But a Tool For Scamming
He says he used to manipulate investors into buying worthless stocks, but in our own time, in the era of technologies, it is way easier to manipulate.
At the same time, Belfort did not dare to call bitcoin a scam but emphasized “its nature allows scams” to take place. He added that it is a dark market and no one can know what’s happening behind the stage.
Belfort Questions Bitcoin’s Security
The “Wolf of Wall Street” also disputed bitcoin’s safety. Many crypto-enthusiasts have been saying bitcoin may help eliminate the need for central banks and be the top anonymous decentralized currency. But Belfort, however, doesn’t believe governments will allow this to happen after they have fought with money-laundering so much.
