Crypto21 May, 20262 min read
Mark Cuban Sells Most of His Bitcoin, Says It Failed as a Hedge During Iran Conflict
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Cuban sold most of his Bitcoin holdings. Bitcoin failed to act as a hedge against weakening fiat and geopolitical turmoil.
Cuban dumps Bitcoin
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban said he has sold most of his Bitcoin holdings after concluding it failed to act as a hedge during geopolitical turmoil and dollar weakness, including during the Iran conflict.
“Mark Cuban said he sold most of his bitcoin after concluding the cryptocurrency failed to act as a hedge during recent geopolitical turmoil and dollar weakness.”
In an interview with Front Office Sports, Cuban said, “When all this shit hit the fan with the Iran war, bitcoin was always the best alternative to fiat currency losing its value and I always thought it was a better version of gold than gold. Well, gold just blew up... bitcoin dropped.”
Cuban also argued that the expected hedge behavior did not materialize, saying, “Every time the dollar dropped, bitcoin should've gone up ... and it just didn't do that.”
The remarks were framed as a shift from his prior view that Bitcoin’s fixed supply and decentralized structure made it a superior alternative to gold, while he said he is now more disappointed in Bitcoin than in Ethereum and the rest.
Crypto market snapshot
While Cuban criticized Bitcoin’s hedge narrative, market coverage in the same period described Bitcoin trading around $77,818 and Ethereum at $2,139.91, with HYPE up 13.7%, NEAR up 9.19%, and SUI increasing 6.74%. That market snapshot also included a separate note that Bitcoin failed to maintain the $78,000 level on May 21, falling to just above $77,000 and erasing recent gains.
The decline was attributed to persistent outflows from spot bitcoin ETFs and a 0.3% price drop that triggered $44.3 million in liquidations. One analyst quoted in the coverage, Michaël van de Poppe, warned that Bitcoin could sharply decline if it fails to maintain support above $74,000, while another key level cited was a resistance zone at $79,100 that remained unbroken.
Debate over utility
Cuban’s critique extended beyond Bitcoin, as he said he was less disappointed in Ethereum and described meme coins and other speculative tokens as “garbage.” In the same Front Office Sports interview coverage, Cuban said, “I’m more disappointed in Bitcoin, not as disappointed in Ethereum and the rest ... garbage,” linking his disappointment to the hedge role he expected Bitcoin to play.
“He was categorical about meme coins and speculative tokens, calling them ‘garbage.’”
Other reporting tied his stance to a broader debate over whether crypto has found mainstream utility, quoting Cuban as saying, “It hasn’t found an application for grandma.” Across the coverage, the tension remained between Bitcoin framed as a hedge or “digital gold” and the counterpoint that its price behavior did not match Cuban’s expectations during the Iran conflict, while Ethereum was treated more favorably for its utility through decentralized finance and blockchain applications.