Andrew Tate is a controversial and polarising figure, and he also has some big opinions about crypto. Recently, Tate was arrested in Romania, where he lives with his brother Tristan and some assistants. The charges include human trafficking, rape and organised crime.
In 2022, Andrew Tate resurfaced on the internet. In fact, ‘Andrew Tate’ was the most searched on Google in 2022 under the query “Who is..?”
Tate’s arrest came on the heels of a skirmish with climate activist Greta Thunberg.
As news of his arrest keeps coming, we take a look into his views on crypto over the years, and just how many times he has offered conflicting and confusing viewpoints about the industry.
Andrew Tate and his wealth
Andrew Tate, on the surface, seems quite wealthy. He claims to own casinos in Romania, and says he owns an elite car collection, including a $3.95m Bugatti Chiron. He also owns a controversial online course that he calls “Hustler’s University” where he says he teaches young men to make money outside normal avenues. This includes a course on trading cryptocurrencies.
Tate claims that the course has more than 50,000 students across the globe, paying $49 a month. If the student numbers are true, this would bring $2.5 million per month into his coffers.
Tate also claims to have made millions on the crypto markets. While he has never offered proof of this, Tate seems to both praise crypto and slag it off in confusing equal measure.
Andrew Tate and conflicting crypto opinions
When crypto benefits him, Tate is all for it. He says he knows what will make people around the world believe in it.
“If you ever tried to send a million dollars, which I’ve done through a bank, you will see the levels of bullshit you have to go through. It’s my money that I made and I’m sending it to somebody. But I have to go through weeks of papers and questions and garbage. And it bounces back and it’s blocked, then, new pieces of paper and letters from tax authorities and interviews,” in a clip posted by NFT Degens.
“Whereas with Bitcoin, I press two buttons, it costs me 35 cents and it’s done in three minutes. And there are too many people with a lot of money, who are tired of banks. That’s why Bitcoin will never go to zero. Because there are too many people with a bunch of money who do not want to be playing these games, whether they’re criminals, or if they’re legit. The banks just don’t like that I’m trying to move my money. You’re giving me questions? F*ck you. That’s why Bitcoin will never go to zero.”
Tate on making millions in crypto
While Tate says crypto is right for him, it seems that it is not right for the unwashed masses.
“I was talking to a young guy the other day. When he was 22, he caught a crypto pump and made $4 million in the last Bull Run. A crypto pump doesn’t teach you anything. He didn’t learn sales, marketing, staff management, stress tolerance, anything. Now he’s just gambling on shitcoins waiting for the next one to pop. He’s pointless, his ass is never going to want to get a real job and he doesn’t have any skills.”
Then there are ‘crypto people’ for whom Tate has a distaste for.
“It’s amazing how heavily people are leveraged into this crypto stuff. So, if you get to a point in your life where you have to sit and look at a number on the screen? And pray it goes off? That’s ridiculous because you’ve removed your own control and your own power from your own life. There’s a degree of luck involved at all things. I’m not the kind of guy who wakes up and goes, ‘I need to check this number because it’s not high. I’m in trouble.’ That’s ridiculous.”
But what about what you said…
Tate also says that crypto market crashes are an opportunity, making his flip-flopping views on crypto very confusing.
“Of course, people start saying, ‘this is the end of Bitcoin!’ People do not seem to yet understand that crisis and opportunity are the same thing. In fact, in Japanese, they are the same word.”
Tate also says that crypto is in fact cool. “I love crypto. And I love a crypto pump. Everybody does. When I say detrimental things about the crypto community, the point I’m trying to make is that many people out here – especially men – are not prepared for wealth. And when I say they’re not prepared for wealth, they haven’t been through the struggle that’s going to allow them to become a man of calibre before they find money.
“They haven’t done the running to a fish stall, running to the gym, getting punched in the face for money. They’ve never done that. So what happens when a 19-year-old kid catches a crypto pump on junk like Shiba? Now he’s a millionaire. Fine. This was blind luck. He’s never going to go out there and get a job. The only thing he could ever think to do is to just try and get another pump. Now he’s effectively a gambler for the rest of his life.”
Hustler’s University and crypto
Despite getting banned on many social media platforms, Andrew Tate was still everywhere in 2022. He gave hot take after hot take to publicise his Hustler’s University, which teaches principles of crypto trading among other wealth strategies. It appears, however, that Tate’s Hustler’s University also operates like a pyramid scheme.
When a student signs up for his course, they can make cash by getting other people interested in signing up via an affiliate link. Then the new students too can get money from an affiliate link, and the pyramid continues.
Not everyone who has completed the course is a fan.
Student Aden Rao said, “I signed up about a month ago. There are a lot of topics that you can learn from which is good. I chose crypto because I trade, so I’ll be able to judge if the information is good or not. And it’s pretty bad. A lot of the lessons are just text that you have to read through. There are videos, but the videos are just screen recordings with a low-quality voiceover from the ‘professors.’ The information in the videos could be way more concise. In my opinion, I think if you are new to trading, I’d be really really confused after taking this course.”
Others say the course is only okay. Some ‘students’ say they got a lot out of the course and are glad they did it. But mostly, opinion is mixed.
In the end
Andrew Tate makes a lot of claims about his wealth. But it’s hard to believe these claims without proof. Like in the case of FTX and all of the crypto industry, it might be good for Tate and frens to show us proof of reserves. Until then, we will be forever confused by his views on crypto and whether he really did make as much money on his crypto trades as he says he did.
As for signing up to his ‘school’ to learn about crypto? Perhaps don’t do that.
