GENE SIMMONS Says He Hasn't Sold His Crypto Holdings Despite Market Drop

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons says that he has not sold any of his 14 cryptocurrencies since the onset of the so-called "crypto winter."

Simmons addressed his fondness for digital assets while speaking briefly to Crypto HouseWife on December 8, 2022 at Sobeys Liquor Store in Royal Oak, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He said: "Well, I'm not gonna suggest or recommend anything; I'm not a financial advisor. But since you're asking me, yes, I'm deep in crypto. I believe in it. I've got bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum." Personally, I'm holding, but everybody should do their own due diligence."

In the past, Simmons has said that he was "in [crypto] big" and that he had "done really well." He said: "Since the downturn, I have not sold a single position. I have faith in the future. The near future."

In a May 2022 interview with American Songwriter, Simmons called cryptocurrency "a game-changer. Governments, as you know, now print money whenever they need it," he said. "So, inflation keeps getting bigger and bigger. The dollar used to be based on gold and you can lose a dollar. You can't lose your crypto currency, unless, of course, you lose what's called your 'code wallet,' or your password. Banks have nothing to say about it. Governments have nothing to say about it. The world is changing. It's probably time. Probably time to do that instead of keep cutting trees down and making paper so that we can give it to each other. But credit cards and wiring funds probably were the start of that."

The cryptocurrency market has come under pressure over the last few weeks as problems at major exchange FTX came to light.

November was a particularly catastrophic month for crypto, with bitcoin's price dropping from over $20,000 to under $16,000 in a matter of days, and ethereum seeing a similar decline.

In the past several months, the crypto market value has decreased by more than $1 trillion as a result of a significant and continuous sell-off.

A recent CNBC All-America Economic Survey showed 43% of the public with a negative view of cryptocurrencies, up from 25% in March.

Around 16% of Americans say they invested in cryptocurrencies, according to a poll from Pew Research Center last year.