The rock star revealed he bought $300,000 of ADA because the token is more “affordable” than Bitcoin
On Friday, Gene Simmons, the rock star and frontman for Kiss, tweeted that he had just purchased $300,000 worth of Cardano (ADA) because he believes the price will rise.
Simmons is not completely new to cryptocurrencies.
Last September he replied to a Cameron Winklevoss tweet about buying Bitcoin and Ethereum with “I will. I am,” and earlier in February he revealed that he had bought or was in the process of buying Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Dogecoin and other tokens.
Why did he add ADA to his portfolio?
In a follow-up tweet, the Kiss bassist explained: “First because it’s affordable for almost everyone. It’s a bit cheaper than my other holdings like Bitcoin, which is over $50,000 per coin.”
It’s important to note that the idea that Cardano’s low price alone makes it more “affordable” is misguided — a token’s value should be judged by its utility and growth potential rather than its nominal price. Still, Simmons’ tweet highlights a common way many crypto newcomers think.
Inexperienced retail investors often look at the price per coin first, believing it to be the main indicator of a token’s potential performance. That mindset helped drive the recent surge of interest in Dogecoin, as many outsiders were drawn to tokens priced in cents rather than dollars or thousands of dollars.
Because of this, a celebrity endorsement for a cryptocurrency that trades for just a few “cents” can attract new retail investors to ADA in the short term—especially since Simmons has more than a million followers.
More experienced crypto traders may also be bullish on Cardano right now for technical reasons. Users from the decentralized finance (DeFi) space are looking for alternatives to high Ethereum gas fees, and Cardano’s growing ecosystem is attracting attention. Cardano’s ongoing work on an Ethereum-compatible KEVM (K Ethereum Virtual Machine) creates a continuous bridge between the two ecosystems, which could increase demand for ADA.
Another positive development is the imminent Goguen upgrade, scheduled for release later this month, which will introduce native user-defined tokens on Cardano and expand the platform’s transaction capabilities.
Once these upgrades are complete, Cardano is expected to become more decentralized, which could improve its chances of being listed on major exchanges like Coinbase. Greater exchange exposure often leads to increased liquidity and broader investor access, which can support price appreciation.
There are therefore sensible reasons for both newcomers and seasoned crypto investors to be optimistic about ADA. Gene Simmons will likely be pleased with his move—he reportedly made about $40,000 over the weekend following his purchase. He has since disclosed investments in Chainlink and Binance Coin as well, so those tokens could also experience short-term price effects from his endorsements.