Retired From NFL Lewis Neal Chooses a Career in the Crypto World, Here's Why

JAKARTA - Lewis Neal, a former National Football League (NFL) defender, shares the story of how he transitioned from being a professional footballer to exploring the world of finance, which eventually led him to Bitcoin and crypto wallets.

Neal explained that his expectations were high when he started football. Like many aspiring professional athletes, he thought he would be a star. However, things did not turn out as he expected.

"I think I will get a lot of playing time. But during that year, I was a backup. So, I had to develop another skill that could change my life and that of my family. That's what pushed me to get into the financial industry," Neal told Cointelegraph at the Blockchain Economy Dubai Summit 2022.

The former soccer player went on to trade currencies, futures and commodities before researching crypto.

“When you trade, you are exposed to other asset classes. And that is exactly how I was exposed to Bitcoin and other asset classes in the crypto space,” he said. Eventually, he became the CEO of a crypto wallet project called Kryptic.

In light of Neal's experience as a forex trader, Cointelegraph asked him to share his thoughts on the recent fall of fiat currencies like the euro and pound. According to Neal, Bitcoin may still fall despite its stable performance as the United States dollar strengthens.

“The market will follow the economy eventually, even if it's Bitcoin. So, just because Bitcoin is stable, doesn't mean it can't fall, right? Because if you look at the dollar, the US dollar is gaining strength against every major currency, for now,” he added.

When asked about Web3 technologies such as the non-exchangeable tokens used by professional athletes to interact with fans, Neal said it was important to simplify things and empower athletes by making the user experience simpler.

"I was already in the dressing room. Many of them don't even know how to download wallets and buy cryptocurrencies,” he said.

Neal underlined that athletes should be able to do it themselves so they can have complete control over their brand and no third party does it for them. "We have to make it easy for athletes to mass adopt," said Neal.