Whatever his cryptic good faith, Mr. Belfort is no doubt qualified to discuss the subject of financial fraud, a major issue in the digital assets industry. In the 1990s, the company he founded, Stratton Oakmont, operated a sophisticated stock handling scheme. At the height of their wealth, he and his business partners consumed huge amounts of cocaine and quaalude and hired prostitutes on a regular basis. Mr Belfort eventually served 22 months in prison.
Given this story, it may be slightly surreal to hear an older, grizzly bear Mr. Belfort proclaiming that he is “looking forward to regulation” in the crypto industry. “I’m not interested in separating people from their money,” he said. “It’s the opposite of how I’m doing now.”
However, the cryptocurrency workshop at his house was not free: guests paid a Bitcoin for a seat, or the cash equivalent, which is about $ 40,000.
The workshop started on Saturday at 9.00. Guests – chosen from a group of more than 600 applicants – flew into Mr Belfort’s backyard, eating omelettes to order and trading tips on mining and Bitcoin tokenomics. A crypto miner from Kazakhstan has relaxed in the sun with an aspiring blockchain influence running a roofing company in Idaho. A Florida businessman has explained his plan to use NFTs in a start-up he presents as Tinder for music. Some of the guests said they paid for the workshop because they are wolf fans; others simply wanted to network with fellow entrepreneurs.
At about 9:15, the mimosas were flowing, but Mr. Belfort was nowhere to be seen. “The US dollar is going to be nonsense,” said roofing director Doug Bartlett. A few minutes passed. Not a wolf yet. “Is the wolf still asleep?” a guest wondered aloud.