Dave Portnoy, the loud and bold founder of Barstool Sports, is once again in the middle of a crypto mess. This time, his new meme coin caused huge losses for buyers while he walked away with a big profit.
It Started with a Token Called GREED
Portnoy launched a meme coin named GREED, calling it a “collectible.” But things turned ugly fast.
He bought 357.92 million GREED tokens, which was more than 35% of all the coins. Then, he quickly sold all of them. This sudden move caused the price to crash by 99%, wiping out most of its value.
While others lost money, Portnoy made about $258,000 from the sale.
One unlucky investor lost $101,000 in just 3 hours. They bought GREED using 911 SOL (worth $153,000) but were only able to sell it later for 309 SOL (about $52,000).
This led to angry reactions online, with many accusing Portnoy of unfairly taking advantage of people who trusted him.
This Isn’t His First Crypto Problem
Before GREED, Portnoy was involved in another coin called LIBRA. He was given over 6 million LIBRA tokens before the coin was made public. But he gave them back after being told he couldn’t mention that he got them.
At least he was honest about it—something many influencers aren’t. Some people believe others still accept free tokens secretly and never tell their followers.
Then Came GREED2
Despite all the criticism, Portnoy launched GREED2, keeping 268 million tokens (about 27% of the supply). He warned people not to invest more than they could afford to lose and said he wouldn’t sell any coins before midnight—or maybe never.
But many didn’t believe him.
One user wrote, “I don’t care if he buys or sells coins, but telling people to hold while he loads up is just wrong.”
Others said he was acting like the crypto scammers he usually criticizes.
Promoting Another Coin: JAILSTOOL
At the same time, Portnoy started talking about a new coin called JAILSTOOL, listed on Kraken. He claimed he used his GREED profits to buy JAILSTOOL and promised not to sell it.
But some users pointed out that he wasn’t even part of the team behind JAILSTOOL. This made people even more suspicious of his real intentions.
One crypto fan said, “You ran GREED. But you’re not behind JAILSTOOL. You also said you wouldn’t sell GREED—remember?”
Portnoy Defends Himself
In response to the backlash, Portnoy posted online:
“There are a lot of fake good guys in the meme coin world. They just want your money. Don’t blame me if you lose.”
His comment only added fuel to the fire. People said he was doing exactly what he warned others about—getting rich while others lose.
Was It a Scam or Just Bad Luck?
What Portnoy did looks like a classic “pump and dump”—when someone hypes a coin, makes the price go up, sells their stash, and the price crashes, leaving buyers with losses.
This has happened before:
- In 2021, SafeMoon’s price exploded, then crashed after influencers dumped it.
- In 2022, Kim Kardashian paid a $1.26 million fine for promoting a coin without telling people she was paid.
Now, many are wondering if Portnoy is just repeating history with GREED and GREED2.
Bottom Line
Dave Portnoy made a lot of money from GREED, but many others didn’t. Whether it was a scam or just a bad launch, people are demanding more honesty and rules in the crypto world.
