Sometimes forgetting your password pays off big time. NBA superstar Kevin Durant can't access his Coinbase account containing Bitcoin he bought back in 2016 for under $1,000 per coin. With Bitcoin now trading near $116,000, his agent Rich Kleiman is calling this digital lockout the best investment strategy ever.
Coinbase just became the poster child for the ultimate crypto HODL strategy, thanks to one very expensive password problem. NBA legend Kevin Durant has been locked out of his cryptocurrency account for years, and his agent couldn't be happier about it. The Houston Rockets star's digital amnesia turned what could have been a routine crypto investment into a potential eight-figure windfall. Durant started buying Bitcoin around 2016 when it traded between $360 and $1,000 per coin, according to his agent Rich Kleiman, who revealed the situation during CNBC's Game Plan conference in Los Angeles this week. Fast-forward to today, and Bitcoin is commanding nearly $116,000 per coin - representing gains of over 11,000% from Durant's entry point. 'We've yet to be able to track down his Coinbase account info, so we've never sold anything, and this bitcoin is just through the roof,' Kleiman told the audience. The irony wasn't lost on him: 'It's just a process we haven't been able to figure out, but Bitcoin keeps going up... so, I mean, it's only benefited us.' The crypto journey began after a team dinner during Durant's Golden State Warriors days. 'I just heard the word bitcoin 25 times this evening, and the next day, we started investing in bitcoin,' Kleiman recalled. While he didn't specify the exact amounts Durant purchased, even a modest investment of $10,000 back then would now be worth over $1 million. The timing was fortuitous. In 2016, Bitcoin was still largely dismissed by mainstream finance and trading in relative obscurity. Durant's early adoption put him ahead of institutional investors like Tesla and MicroStrategy, who wouldn't enter the market until years later. The lockout situation highlights a persistent challenge in cryptocurrency adoption - the responsibility of self-custody. Unlike traditional banking, there's no customer service line that can instantly reset your access to millions in digital assets. Kleiman clarified that the account issues stem from 'user error on our end' and that they've been working directly with Coinbase's team on recovery. The relationship between Durant's camp and Coinbase runs deeper than just a customer service issue. In 2021, Durant's Thirty Five Ventures struck a multiyear promotional deal with the exchange, creating content about digital assets for his sports and entertainment platform Boardroom. Both Durant and Kleiman are also investors in , making this lockout story even more complicated. responded diplomatically to the situation, noting that users can reset passwords through self-service tools in their app and that their 24/7 support team handles account recovery requests. The company's stock has roughly tracked Bitcoin's performance, making Durant's investment in the platform itself another winner. This isn't just a celebrity crypto tale - it's a masterclass in unintentional diamond hands. While retail investors panic-sold through multiple market crashes, Durant's forgotten credentials forced him into the ultimate long-term holding strategy. The story perfectly captures crypto's Wild West nature, where a simple password mistake can mean the difference between modest gains and generational wealth. Durant's situation also underscores the growing mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency among professional athletes. From 's now-infamous FTX endorsement to NFT investments, sports stars have become crypto's most visible ambassadors.
