by Wilma Woo · January 24, 2018 · 6:00 am
An unsuspecting 50 Cent may have accrued $8.5 million in Bitcoin album sales he “forgot about” after fans purchased ‘Animal Ambition’ in 2014.
50 Cent: ‘I’m Getting To The Bag’
The rapper allegedly made the comments in response to an investigation by showbusiness magazine TMZ, which suggested copies of the album had netted him around 700 BTC, at the time worth $400,000.
In fresh comments on Twitter, 50 Cent confirmed he was “getting to the bag” amid a flurry of advice from cryptocurrency holders, chief among which was to ‘hodl’ his earnings.
Animal Ambition was a pioneer in Bitcoin acceptance in the music industry when 50 Cent made the somewhat unexpected decision to partner with BitPay via his Shopify store. At the time, prices were around $660, putting his untouched earnings at between $7 million and $8.5 million.
“Ima keep it real i forgot i did that sh*t lol,” he added to subscribers on his Instagram profile.
A Genius Hodler?
The news swiftly unleashed various forms of tribute capitalizing on the funds lying dormant for years, with a dedicated Twitter parody account, FiddyCrypto, appearing to give out Blockchain and altcoin tips in addition to various content related to 50 Cent himself. The account has since been deleted.
Animal Ambition is nonetheless a curious success if the numbers behind the Bitcoin payments are accurate.
Various projects to ingratiate the music industry with cryptocurrency have tended to stop short of mainstream products on sale for BTC. Rather, proponents such as Imogen Heap looked to Blockchain as a method of disrupting age-old power structures and redistributing power to artists.
“Turns out 50 is a money genius,” TMZ meanwhile concludes. Commenting on recent price volatility in Bitcoin and altcoin markets, the publication added “50 might wanna think about unloading soon while the gettin’s still good.”
What do you think about 50 Cent’s potential Bitcoin fortune? Let us know in the comments below!