Durant’s Bitcoin has surged nearly 200-fold from $600 to $117,000, and his recovered Coinbase account preserved the gains untouched for years.
Kevin Durant has regained access to his long-dormant Coinbase account, ending frustration over misplaced login details and restoring control of Bitcoin bought nearly a decade ago.
The Houston Rockets forward, who begins his 18th NBA season this year, successfully reset his account with help from Coinbase support tools, CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed on X.
The issue dated back to 2016, when Durant and his agent Rich Kleiman first bought Bitcoin after attending a birthday party hosted by venture capitalist Ben Horowitz. Kleiman recounted the story at CNBC’s Game Plan conference in Los Angeles this week.
“I just heard the word ‘Bitcoin’ 25 times this evening, and the next day, we started investing in Bitcoin,” Kleiman recalled at the event. He did not disclose how much Bitcoin was bought.
Bitcoin was trading at about $600 when Durant first bought in. Today, the price hovers near $117,000. This marks an almost 200-fold jump in value.
Because Durant could not access his account for years, those holdings remained untouched. As a result, they sat through one of the most dramatic bull runs in financial history.
The problem stemmed from lost login credentials, something Kleiman joked about on stage.
“But Bitcoin keeps going up … so, I mean, it’s only benefited us,” he said. That process is now resolved.
Durant has been closely tied to Coinbase for years. He and Kleiman invested in the company in 2017 through their venture firm Thirty Five Ventures. Since 2021, Durant has also been a brand partner for the exchange.
Durant’s crypto journey began just as his basketball career reached new heights. He had joined the Golden State Warriors in 2016 and won his first NBA championship the following season. Now with the Rockets, he is the league’s seventh all-time leading scorer.
He is also part of a growing group of NBA players who have embraced digital assets. Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson launched a Web3 fan engagement project this week, while Charlotte Hornets guard Spencer Dinwiddie once tried to tokenize his NBA contract.
