Adrian Grenier is bullish on crypto.
The “Entourage” actor, who previously said he expects Bitcoin (BTC_USD) to replace fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, told Yahoo Finance that crypto can “fix a lot of the systems that are broken currently, and are quite wasteful across all industries.”
Grenier, a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador, defended operations like bitcoin mining, which critics say hurts the environment due to its sizable energy draw.
“[There’s] a trade off for all things,” Grenier noted, calling himself a “realist” when it comes to potential impact.
But “crypto isn’t just a thing that uses energy,” he continued. He added that he views cryptocurrencies as useful assets “that will fix many industries to be more efficient, so if you look at the global net benefit, I think it’s it’s a positive one.”
Grenier, who ditched Hollywood and relocated to Texas to start his own communal farm, previously revealed that he plans to grow his own food and use digital currencies as a way to trade locally.
Making space tourism affordable
In addition to crypto, Grenier has cast his support behind another growing industry: space tourism.
The actor recently partnered with World View, the stratospheric ballooning and space tourism company, to serve as its Chief Earth Advocate. In the role, Grenier will “support World View’s mission to rediscover Earth, inspiring new perspectives on the planet and encouraging deeper respect for it as a living organism,” the company said in a press release.
Grenier told Yahoo Finance that the role was “perfectly aligned with my heart, my spirit and the work that I’ve been doing for a long time.”
He added, “World View’s mission isn’t to leave the planet and escape…it’s actually to peer back down and reflect upon our interconnectedness.”
World View recently announced an expansion of its services that includes entry into the space tourism and exploration market at an affordable price point.
“It’s all about creating attainable access. We believe that the benefits of space tourism are something that should be shared with as many people as possible,” Ryan Hartman, World View President & CEO, said during the interview.
He explained that the company will be conducting stratospheric flights at several key wonders of the world, including the Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef, Giza Pyramids, among others.
Tickets will cost $50,000 with available financing — a significantly cheaper option compared to competitors like Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, which plans to charge a whopping $250,000 per ticket, or Virgin Galactic’s (SPCE) $450,000 voyages.
“It’s most important to understand that the experience itself is 6 to 8 hours long, so it’s going to give our customers an opportunity to truly take in the beauty of the Earth, the fragility of the earth and see it as a living organism and as something bigger than themselves,” Hartman revealed.
Grenier agreed that the business model will be successful due to the fact that “more people will be able to take the ride.” He went on to say that the experience will also create “a critical mass of perspective change and a cognitive shift in awareness to our interconnectedness.”
Commercial operations are set to begin in 2024 with the first human flight happening in late 2023.
Alexandra is a Senior Entertainment and Food Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193
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