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Bucs' Tom Brady 'Big Believer' in Cryptocurrency, Discusses NFT Company 'Autograph'
May 28, 2021
Tom Brady has found a new hobby in his spare time: investing in cryptocurrency.
In fact, Brady's involvement with the emerging finance sector led him to join Coindesk's "Consensus 2021" on Thursday as one of the online conference's keynote speakers—even if he's still educating himself about the world of crypto.
"I'm a big believer in it," Brady told Greg Auman of The Athletic. "I don't think it's going anywhere. … In this particular space with crypto, I'm still learning so much. It's definitely something I'm going to be in for a long time. It's definitely a marathon."
According to Auman, Brady was invited to speak at the event by Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of crypto exchange FTX, whom Brady connected with after one of his quarterbacks coaches in Tampa Bay first piqued the 43-year-old's interest in the investment area.
Now, Brady is tracking the prices of different tokens on a daily basis. But the actual investments are only a portion of crypto culture. Maintaining an online presence and passing around memes is another part of the game. Brady has fully embraced that aspect as well, changing his Twitter avatar to a headshot of himself with lasers shooting from his eyes in mid-May as part of a bitcoin meme.
The QB has also begun experimenting with non-fungible tokens, which plenty of pro athletes have dabbled in following the quick ascent of NFTs like NBA Top Shot.
"I really wanted to be part of a community of people building this space and contributing to it," Brady said. "It's really been a crash course in this offseason. All these things happen pretty quickly. … I wanted to be a part of building a great platform that could create opportunities for myself, other artists, other entertainment brands to create great collectibles."
Even as Brady continues to learn more about the successes and pitfalls related to cryptocurrencies, he's happy to tell anyone about his latest interest.
"I'm such a big believer in crypto and where things are headed in the world," Brady said Thursday night. "I'm certainly not an expert. … We've had some conversations. I'm listening to everybody, just excited to continue to learn."