Mark Cuban says he sold nearly 80% of his Bitcoin holdings after losing confidence in his hedging narrative.
summary
- Mark Cuban told Front Office Sports that he sold most of his Bitcoin after gold rose to $5,000 during the US-Iran conflict while Bitcoin fell.
- Cuban described Bitcoin as “not the hedge I expected it to be” and said it had “missed the plot,” while emphasizing that he still holds Ethereum for his benefit.
- Bitcoin defenders point out that the asset has risen more than 16% since the first signs of the US-Iran conflict, which contradicts the Cuban narrative on the time frame.
Billionaire Mark Cuban He said Front Office Sports sold nearly 80% of its Bitcoin after concluding it failed as a hedge against dollar weakness and geopolitical instability.
“I always thought it was a better version of gold than gold,” he said. “But gold just exploded and hit $5,000. Bitcoin went down.”
Why does Cuban say Bitcoin fails the geopolitical hedging test?
Cuban’s portfolio until 2026 consists of approximately 60% Bitcoin, 30% Ethereum, and 10% other assets. He once said he “never sold” his bitcoin and described scarcity as making it superior to gold. This conviction has now been reversed.
“Every time the dollar went down, Bitcoin should have gone up,” Cuban said in the interview. “This is not the hedge I expected.” He still holds on to Ethereum, citing smart contracts and DeFi applications as being of more obvious benefit, and dismissing most other cryptocurrencies as “garbage.”
Crypto.news has tracking Cuban stated in January 2025 that he “would rather own bitcoin than gold if something bad happened to the economy,” a position he has now abandoned.
What does Cuban’s exit from Bitcoin mean for the digital gold narrative?
Bitcoin advocates have opposed Cuban’s framing. Since the first signs of the US-Iran conflict appeared in late February, Bitcoin has risen more than 16% while gold has fallen more than 15%. The performance of a hedge depends largely on the specific time frame.
Gold is currently trading at around $4,500 an ounce, having retreated from its peak at $5,000, while Bitcoin is trading near $77,500, down nearly 38% from its October 2025 all-time high of $126,080.
Crypto.news has I mentioned The full arc of Cuban’s crypto journey, from rejecting assets entirely to building a portfolio heavily weighted with digital assets. Cuba’s exit does not reflect widespread institutional behavior, as spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively have more than $100 billion in assets. Bitcoin (Bitcoin(The price page tracks how the markets are digesting Cuban’s comments and the macro backdrop in real time.
