In 2020, former Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Russell Okung made headlines by negotiating to have half of his $13 million NFL contract for the 2020 season paid out in Bitcoin.

Today, that move has paid off, with the value of Okung’s BTC now estimated at $21 million, thanks to the recent surge in the asset’s prices.

$21 Million Payout

While he was not paid in cryptocurrency, the Panthers converted $6.5 million of his salary through Strike, a financial service from Zap that facilitated the purchase of Bitcoin with his funds. This move made Okung one of the first high-profile professional athletes to receive a substantial portion of his income in Bitcoin.

The digital asset was trading at around $27,000 at the time of his investment. With his $6.5 million, Okung acquired approximately 240 BTC, a move viewed as a significant financial risk since the cryptocurrency was still in a growth phase and was known for its volatile price swings.

In late 2022, the cryptocurrency experienced one of its more severe downturns, dropping to around $17,000. This means the 36-year-old’s investment temporarily lost significant value, decreasing to around $4.08 million. Nevertheless, Okung opted to hold onto his stash.

Following the U.S. presidential election in November 2024, BTC prices surged dramatically, reaching an all-time high of over $83,000. As of this week, bitcoin is around $88,000, raising the value of Okung’s initial 240 BTC to approximately $21.36 million.

This increase effectively boosts the total worth of his Panthers contract to around $27.8 million, meaning Okung’s decision to invest half his salary in Bitcoin has led to an additional $14.8 million in value.

The former offensive tackle, who retired from professional football in 2023, recently took to social media to share his win, declaring, “Results silence all debates.”

Interestingly, the former player, who is currently fronting an initiative dubbed Bitball that advocates paying athletes in BTC, has indicated that he will not be cashing in on his windfall any time soon. “How long will I hold Bitcoin? Okay, how long do I plan to breathe?” Okung said in a November 14 post on X.

how long will i hold bitcoin? okay, how long do i plan to breathe? https://t.co/em2zLo3cqY

— OKUNG (@RussellOkung) November 13, 2024

Trump’s Election Win Aftermath

Bitcoin’s recent price rally came after Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The rally attracted major inflows into digital assets, with the OG cryptocurrency alone pulling in $1.8 billion, according to CoinShares’ Digital Asset Fund Flows weekly report.

The rally extended beyond Bitcoin, with Ethereum gaining $157 million in inflows and notable activity among altcoins like Solana, Uniswap, XRP, and Tron.

Overall, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization reached a new all-time high of $3.12 trillion in early Asian trading on Tuesday, Nov. 12. This surpassed the previous record of $3.08 trillion set nearly three years ago in November 2021.

The battle for sixth place in terms of the largest cryptocurrency by market cap has taken another turn as XRP has reclaimed its spot after a week-long hiatus.

This came amid Ripple’s massive rally over the past few days, including a surge above $1 and numerous speculations on X about a new all-time high.

XRP Above DOGE

The crypto market has gone through some turbulent times since the US elections last week. At one point, Dogecoin was the biggest gainer, surging by 150% within a week due to the asset’s affiliation with Elon Musk and his future involvement in the Trump administration. Back then, DOGE’s market cap shot up to roughly $60 billion and became the sixth largest digital asset, surpassing XRP and USDC.

Since then, the tides have turned and DOGE is down by 17% to $0.365, with its market cap declining to $52 billion. At the same time, XRP went on a roll and shot up by 100% within the past week to just over $1.1 now. This means that its own market cap has exceeded $60 billion, reclaiming XRP’s position as the sixth largest asset.

$XRP CAME OUT OF 3 YEAR BEAR
MARKER WITH A SINGLE CANDLE.

POWER OF CRYPTO pic.twitter.com/flEypWjvpG

— Ash Crypto (@Ashcryptoreal) November 16, 2024

Thus, Ripple’s native token remains above $1 for the first time since the bull market back in 2021. The asset’s gains come on the heels of speculations about Gary Gensler stepping down as the chairman of the SEC, as well as Ripple’s CEO holding meetings with Trump about the future crypto policy in the States.

When New ATH?

Ripple has one of the most devoted and growing communities, and they were quick to celebrate the milestone of going above $1. Moreover, predictions started to pop up left and right about the asset’s potential during this bull market and whether it will ever be able to reclaim its 2018 glory when it hit an all-time high of $3.4.

Popular crypto analyst CryptoBull believes the $1.28 level is the most important barrier in the near future. If it goes down, XRP’s next target could be $1.96 and eventually a new all-time high of almost $4.

#XRP may hang out here for a little bit. When it breaks $1.28, the next levels are $1.96 and $3.84. pic.twitter.com/cmqa60CWG3

— CryptoBull (@CryptoBull2020) November 16, 2024

The bull market seems to be going at full speed and some altcoins are performing undoubtedly better than others.

The case in point is Ripple’s XRP, which is up by a whopping 32% in the past 24 hours alone.

At the time of this writing, XRP is trading at slightly less than $1.20 and is the best-performing cryptocurrency among the top ten and one of the leaders across the top 100 coins by means of total market cap.

But why is the XRP price up today? Well, just a few days ago, the current Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission- Gary Gensler – wrote an open letter, which many thought was his de-facto goodbye note. Recall that President-Elect Donald Trump has promised to fire him on day one of his presidency. He will be inaugurated on January 20th, 2025, but the community is obviously of the opinion that Gensler will step down earlier.

This also has to do with the ongoing lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple and many believe that if Trump appoints a pro-crypto Chairman, this would play into the firm’s favor.