Mark Cuban shared his personal approach to growing wealth, shaped by years of hustling and smart financial decisions. He spoke about it in a Vanity Fair video in 2017. Instead of flashy promises or overnight success stories, he offered nine points of advice based on what got him from nothing to financial freedom.
Cuban’s advice pivoted on points that keep you grounded. The point was to keep your lifestyle modest, so your money has room to grow. Spend with restraint, keep your expenses low, save whenever you can, don’t let credit card debt drain your account and keep gaining new skills that make you more valuable over time.
But in the current era of multifaceted genres of saving, that definitely was not all.
Mark Cuban’s Wild Bitcoin Advice
Among his ideas, there’s a single point that continues to catch the eye of anyone drawn to bold decisions. It appeals to those who enjoy the thrill of possibility and are willing to put something on the line for a chance at a bigger payoff.
Mark said, “If you’re a true adventurer and you really want to throw the Hail Mary. You might take 10%, put it in Bitcoin or Ethereum… but if you do that, you’ve gotta pretend you’ve already lost your money.”
Mark’s message did not make any grand promises or cheerlead ideas like crypto. If you want to make a risky investment, put a cap on how much you’re willing to lose and mentally let go of that money before you place the bet.
A Look Back at Bitcoin’s Price Then vs Now
When Cuban talked about this, Bitcoin wasn’t anywhere near where it is now. Bitcoin was around $5,600 at the time of advice. As of 2025, it is close to $100,000.
Someone tossing five grand into it back then would be looking at close to ninety grand today. A fifteen-thousand-dollar bet would have climbed to somewhere around two hundred and seventy thousand.
Escalations like this show how wild the upside can be when a risky play actually works.
The Shark Tank investor wasn’t trying to teach people how to catch the perfect market swing or ride the latest craze. He was merely talking about controlling your own impulses. The only way that high-risk move makes sense is if you mentally consider that cash as gone from the start.
Beyond that small risk allocation, the rest of your investments should remain stable and predictable. The kind of investment that grows slowly without drama.
The Ten Percent Rule for Crypto Investments
Cuban never sold it as a sure path. His point was to let go of hope and fear before you place the wager. Put the money down, then move on with your life. If it pays off, enjoy it. If it doesn’t, you’re still standing because your foundation was never tied to that one move.
Anyone thinking about taking a big swing without blowing up their long-term plans, the idea still makes sense today.
Set a firm limit, no more than ten percent of what you can afford to lose. Treat that slice as gone the moment it leaves your account. Then return your focus to steady habits that actually grow money over time.
Before taking that leap, it’s smart to speak with someone qualified who can look at your situation from a financial planning perspective. The crypto world can feel exciting and fast-moving, but a rush of excitement is not a road map. Cuban understood that when he talked about risk and restraint.
What Helped Cuban Identify Real Innovation in Crypto
With more exposure to the crypto world, Cuban began to pick out what looked meaningful from what was just hype. Mark wasn’t drawn to every new coin that made noise online.
The Mavericks owner was more interested in systems that solved real problems and offered something beyond speculation. Ethereum and Bitcoin stood out to him because they operated like functional networks rather than passing trends.
They acted like foundations that other technology could be built on. In past conversations, he made it clear that progress at the protocol level is what gives a project staying power. He commented that “Once I realized there were smart contracts that ran on Ethereum, that to me was a differentiated technology that could create new and unique apps. The speculation was the noise.”
Where Crypto Stands in Today’s Market
The crypto world has matured. We’re no longer in the phase where every coin or project gets attention just because it exists. The conversation is shifting toward results, function, and long-term purpose.
The conversation has moved towards practical adoption for companies and investors. The end goal is to use crypto with discipline rather than impulse.
