Key takeaways:
- Mike Tyson’s Twitter question garnered interest from many, including Twitter’s own Jack Dorsey, rapper Busta Rhymes and Microstrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor.
- Most responses included shilling about their favorite lesser-known crypto asset and of course a healthy dose of memes.
- Tyson’s first foray into crypto dates all the way back to 2015. His first NFT collection will go live in August.
One of the boxing greats, Mike Tyson, sure knows how to keep up with the latest trends. Since retirement, the former boxer has become a podcast host, started a marihuana business in Nevada and appeared in numerous TV shows and movies. In 2015 he was already a part of a crypto venture. Now, he is asking his fans which of the big two cryptocurrencies they prefer.
A short tweet, a long and heated discussion
On Saturday when “Iron Mike” asked his almost 6 million Twitter followers about which digital currency, Bitcoin or Ethereum they like more, he probably didn’t imagine such a simple question would cause such a stir.
Most users who actually answered the original question said they prefer Bitcoin. However, the Twitter feed quickly devolved into the promotion of each users’ favorite coin and heated arguments about which crypto is the best. Especially vocal was the Dogecoin (DOGE) community which rallied in big numbers in hopes to make Tyson aware of their preference.
There were a few notable people who joined the discussion. The long-time rapper known for his incredibly fast wordplay, Busta Rhymes, chimed in and wrote, “Mike, I’m right there with you. Spent the last 30 min reading the comment section,” implying how long the comment section has turned out to be.
Microstrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor replied: “Mike, I spent more than a thousand hours considering this question and chose bitcoin. So far, I have purchased $2.9 billion in BTC because I think it’s the future of digital property.”
Tyson is no stranger to crypto, he will shortly drop his first NFT collection
Recently, Tyson has joined forces with NFT agency 1ofone, which will help him with his first non-fungible token (NFT) collection that will be available on opensea.io next month. The collection will include many of the most memorable moments from his career and unique unlockable content.
“The more I learn about NFT’s the more excited I am to be a part of the crypto/tech community. It’s the future and I chose to partner with 1ofone to help me navigate through the NFT community with something truly innovative and creative that tells a story about who I am.”
– Mike Tyson
The deal with the NFT agency is not Tyson’s first foray into the cryptocurrency sector. Back in 2015, he has shared a website miketysonbitcoin.com, which was supposed to be an entry point to start his Bitcoin ATM bussiness. The venture was done in collaboration with Bitcoin Direct LLC, but the two parties eventually parted ways in a dramatic fashion.
Another boxing legend, Floyd Mayweather is also heavily involved in crypto
The former heavyweight champion is not the only boxing superstar involved with the crypto industry. Floyd Mayweather launched his own NFT collection earlier in the year.
In 2018, the boxing star came under pressure, when TMZ reported Mayweather was facing a lawsuit due to his endorsement deal with Centra Tech. Centra Tech’s founders were arrested and charged with wire fraud and securities fraud. Investors who ended up losing $32 million were seeking damages from Mayweather and DJ Khaled who were promoting Centra Tech’s products at the time.
