New York, June 14, 2026, 10:57 (EDT)
- Mark Cuban’s old “Hail Mary” call on Bitcoin from 2017 is back in the spotlight after he claimed Bitcoin has “lost the plot.” Vanity Fair
- Mark Cuban said his main problem is with the idea of Bitcoin as a hedge, not the risk of it dropping to zero.
- Bitcoin climbed above $64,000 and was last near $63,896 on Sunday, according to CoinDesk.
Mark Cuban is facing fresh scrutiny for changing his tune on Bitcoin after new crypto coverage compared his earlier advice to take a small bet with his latest criticism. In a June 11 Benzinga piece picked up by Yahoo Finance, Cuban’s 2017 statements about putting a little money in digital assets were set against his newer views that Bitcoin didn’t act as the hedge he once thought.
Background is relevant since Cuban didn’t pitch Bitcoin as a safe bet. In a 2017 Vanity Fair video, he told risk-tolerant investors they could put a little cash in Bitcoin or Ethereum, but to act as if the money was already lost. “You’ve gotta pretend you’ve already lost your money,” he said, likening crypto to collectibles that only trade for what someone else will pay. Vanity Fair
Nearly nine years on, Cuban sounds different. He told Front Office Sports in a “Portfolio Players” episode, “Bitcoin has lost the plot… Not the hedge I expected it to be.” Cuban said he’s sold most of his Bitcoin and called memecoins “garbage,” the outlet reported. Front Office Sports
Mark Cuban is questioning the “digital gold” pitch for Bitcoin, according to CoinDesk. Cuban told CoinDesk he no longer trusts Bitcoin as a hedge against fiat weakness or geopolitical risk, pointing at Bitcoin’s drop when gold soared during the Iran situation. CoinDesk also said Cuban was once big on Bitcoin in his crypto holdings and had previously called it better than gold for its fixed supply and decentralized setup.
Cuban has pushed back on claims that his sale signals he thinks Bitcoin will collapse. In a June 4 Benzinga piece, also on Yahoo Finance, Cuban posted on X, “I’m not saying it goes to zero.” He said Bitcoin’s value now seems to him like supply and demand plus a payments premium, and that was not his reason for buying it. Cuban also said he sold before the war, using his investing rule for stocks: “If my thesis doesn’t hold. Sell.” Benzinga
Bitcoin didn’t move up in a straight line after those remarks. CoinDesk said Saturday the price pushed past $64,000 as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF inflows hit their best level since May 14, with some traders citing hopes for reduced geopolitical risk. By Sunday, Bitcoin was near $63,896. Ethereum held around $1,658.
Watcher Guru posted a June 12 follow-up that called the situation a warning for retail traders, saying big-name investors can reverse their stance fast, leaving followers at risk if they just mirror a celebrity’s call. But Cuban’s first take already flagged the danger: he called crypto a speculative “Hail Mary,” not something to make the core of a portfolio. Watcher Guru
