50 Cent has admitted that he lied about making millions in the recent Bitcoin boom.
The rapper, who was discharged from bankruptcy a year ago, became the first artist in his genre to allow Bitcoin payments in 2014. His 2014 album, ‘Animal Ambition’, was said to have raked in around 700 Bitcoins worth approximately $662 each.
READ: Bitcoin explained: Its history, why is it so valuable, and will the bubble burst?
The recent rise in Bitcoin value now means each coin is worth almost £8,000, meaning that 50 Cent would have ‘cashed’ in approximately £5.4million.
50 Cent, otherwise known as Curtis James Jackson III, wrote on Instagram: “Not Bad for a kid from South Side, I’m so proud of me.”
He also commented saying that he’d forgotten he even owned the coins, and was only reminded of the cryptocurrency savings when TMZ pointed out the added value.
However, he has now reportedly filed new documents in his bankruptcy case, admitting that “recent media reports have falsely stated” his Bitcoin fortune and that he has “never owned, and does not own, a bitcoin account or any bitcoins, and to the best of his knowledge, none of his companies had a bitcoin account from 2014 to the present.”
“When I first became aware of the press reports on this matter, I made social media posts stating that ‘I forgot I did that’ because I had in fact forgotten that I was one of the first recording artists to accept bitcoin for online transactions,” the rapper wrote in the documents.
“I did not publicly deny the reports that I held bitcoins because the press coverage was favourable and suggested that I had made millions of dollars as a result of my good business decision to accept bitcoin payments.”
The price volatility of bitcoin proved one of the biggest business stories of 2017, leading one company to create a sex toy that changes its intensity according to the value of the cryptocurrency.
Earlier this month, 50 Cent once again criticised Jay-Z’s latest album 4:44, claiming that he was “talking down” to the kids.
He said he felt like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s Carlton Banks whilst listening to the record.
He has previously described 4:44 as “golf course music.”
Elsewhere in the interview, he compared Kanye West to Donald Trump and claimed the US president had been borrowing from rap culture with his attitude.