From Real Estate and Stocks: Former Premier League Player’s New-Found Love of Bitcoin

George
Boyd
has
had
a
change
of
heart.
The
former

Premier
League
soccer
player
first
heard
of
bitcoin

(BTC)
when
it
was
just
$1,800
and,
like
most
people
at
the
time,
dismissed
it.
He
was
happy
to
follow
the
advice
he’d
received
at
the
start
of
his
career
and
put
his
cash
into
real
estate
and
stocks.

But
the
more
Boyd,
who
appeared
in

more
than
100
games
for
Burnley
FC
and
Hull
City,
learned,
the
more
his
outlook
changed.
The
39-year-old,
who
in
the
course
of
his
career
also
played
in
the
final
of
the
FA
Cup
—
the
U.K.’s
most
prestigious
domestic
football
competition
—
is
now
an
ambassador
for
Jacobi
Asset
Management
and
said
he
sees
bitcoin
as
a
great
source
of
generating
generational
wealth.

In
common
with
many
sportspeople,
Premier
League
players
have
a
shorter
career
span
than
the
average
person
who
works
until
they
retire
in
their
mid-60s.
For
professionals
like
Boyd,
it’s
not
just
a
case
of
accumulating
wealth,
but
also
preserving
it.

“So
I
had
a
really
good
agent
who
looked
after
me
well,”
Boyd
said
in
an
interview.
“His
mentality
was
to
start
me
in
property,
so
I
bought
into
the
property
market
and
I’ve
also
got
a
stock
portfolio.
So
that
was
our
sort
of
general
thesis.
Now,
I
try
to
sell
them
all
and
then
buy
more
bitcoin.”

His
journey
into
bitcoin
began
in
2020
during
the
Covid
pandemic,
although
he
was
initially
skeptical
of
the
token
and
its
value.
Later,
he
learned
how
the
current
monetary
system
is

driving
up
inflation
and
how
the
old-school
mentality
of
investing
through
property
or
savings
in
a
bank
doesn’t
work
anymore.

“I
think
that
happened
with
Covid.
Your
eyes
open
even
more
…
I
think
the
monetary
system,
once
you
do
go
around
it
and
with
inflation,
how
it’s
stealing
from
us.
I’ve
tried
to
tell
friends,
and
they’re
still
not
listening.
But
bitcoin
just
fits
today.
It’s
more
of
a
store
of
value,”
Boyd
said.

Boyd
emphasized
the
importance
of
understanding
the
difference
between
bitcoin
and
the
other
cryptocurrencies
as
well
as
the
benefits
of
self-custody.
He
also
criticized
the
traditional
financial
advice
given
to
soccer
players
and
advocated
using
bitcoin
as
a
means
of
creating
sustainable
wealth.

“We’re
not
talking
[profits],
we’re
talking
generational
wealth,
if
you
get
it
right
and
correct,
we’re
talking
about,
generations
of
families
being
set
up
for
life.
I
think
that’s
how
big
it
is.”

“Sports
people
have
a
very
unique
earning
window
in
that
their
capacity
to
earn
is
high
yet
the
window
in
which
to
do
this
is
low,
unlike
most
careers,”
said
Peter
Lane,
co-founder
of
Jacobi
Asset
Management,
which

listed
Europe’s
first
bitcoin
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)
in
2023.

“Retiring
in
your
30’s
means
that
you
need
to
make
the
wealth
you’ve
accumulated
last
possibly
another
60
years
unlike
most
people
who
work
40
years
to
retire
for
20
years
or
so.
These
guys
need
an
asset
that
will
keep
them
wealthy
for
a
very
long
retirement
and
we
feel
that
bitcoin
is
in
an
ideal
position
to
offer
that,”
Lane
said.