Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is continuing to back XRP and bitcoin during a sharp crypto sell-off, maintaining his buying strategy even as prices have moved lower, signaling conviction rather than a short-term price call.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy shared on social media platform X last week his response to the market downturn, detailing new bitcoin and XRP purchases while reiterating his long-held view that steep declines create buying opportunities. While XRP has fallen further since that post, Portnoy’s message centered on accumulation during weakness rather than a specific price level.
He stated:
“ Crypto is crashing but I’m still buying.”
In an accompanying video, Portnoy elaborated on that view, saying, “ Crypto is crashing, blood in the streets, that’s when you buy.” He walked through recent transactions made during the downturn, explaining that he purchased approximately $1 million worth of XRP near $1.79, adding to the $1 million position he established in November of last year. “I went into my Kraken app yesterday. $1.79. Bought a million dollars in XRP,” he explained.
Portnoy acknowledged that prices were already slipping after his purchase, underscoring that his thesis was not tied to immediate upside. “Woke up. It was from $1.79, it was all the way down to $1.74, so I didn’t love that,” he said, adding that continued downside would not alter his approach. Despite the drop, he signaled continued accumulation:
“That thing keeps falling. I’ll keep buying.”
He also revealed that he purchased $500,000 worth of bitcoin at roughly $82,000 during the same period.
Read more: Ripple’s Schwartz Weighs XRP Hitting $50–$100 Odds Using Price Signals
As of writing, XRP is trading near $1.43, marking a sharp 10% daily decline and a 23% drop over the past week as the broader crypto market enters a period of extreme fear. Despite the price rout, the institutional landscape remains distinct; U.S. spot XRP ETFs have stabilized with a total Net Asset Value (NAV) of $1.11 billion, having recovered from a record $93 million outflow in late January. Recent daily inflows into the Bitwise XRP ETF and Franklin’s XRPZ suggest that institutions are increasingly decoupling XRP from bitcoin’s volatility, viewing it instead as a structural play on cross-border payment utility.
Meanwhile, Ripple has continued to expand its global and institutional footprint despite the market volatility. The company has secured a full Electronic Money Institution license in Luxembourg, enabling it to provide payment services and issue electronic money across the European Union. Ripple also disclosed the tokenization of $280 million in certified diamonds from the UAE on the XRP Ledger, highlighting an accelerating push into real-world asset issuance. In parallel, Ripple Prime added support for the Hyperliquid decentralized derivatives protocol, broadening on-chain liquidity options for institutional clients and reinforcing the firm’s strategy of positioning XRP infrastructure for enterprise and capital markets use.
Dave Portnoy bought roughly $1 million in XRP and about $500,000 worth of bitcoin during a recent sell-off.
He bought XRP near $1.79 and bitcoin at approximately $82,000.
Portnoy believes heavy sell-offs and fear create attractive buying opportunities.
Yes, XRP dipped toward $1.74 shortly after, which Portnoy dismissed as normal volatility.
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