Drake packed the crypto references into a single song when he released three surprise solo albums on May 15, 2026, totaling 43 tracks. The song was “Dust” from Iceman, and it was the only track across the full release to explicitly mention bitcoin, crypto, FTX, and Sam Bankman-Fried. In the verse, Drake raps about an “FTX penthouse high-riser,” then says “Samuel Bankman, free all my guys up,” before calling himself a “BTC crypto big-timer.”
One verse tied bitcoin and Bankman-Fried together
The Bankman-Fried lines quickly became the center of attention. In the context described by the source, Drake appeared to be publicly backing Sam Bankman-Fried or at least echoing a plea for his release. The phrase “free all my guys up” is common hip-hop language for solidarity or support. Paired with the FTX penthouse reference, the lyric points back to the high-end lifestyle associated with FTX executives in the Bahamas before the exchange collapsed.
Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 on multiple fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the 2022 collapse of FTX and is serving a 25-year sentence at a federal facility in California. The collapse left an estimated $8 billion shortfall. After Donald Trump returned to the presidency, Bankman-Fried and his family reportedly lobbied for a pardon, though Trump publicly downplayed the odds.
Drake’s bitcoin claim matches a longer public record
The “BTC crypto big-timer” line stood out for another reason: it was Drake’s clearest on-record claim of holding bitcoin at meaningful size. His crypto activity had surfaced before. In February 2022, Kodak Black said on The Breakfast Club that Drake texted him to help set up a bitcoin wallet and sent him 6.6 BTC, worth roughly $250,000 to $300,000 at the time.
Later that year, Drake partnered with crypto betting platform Stake.com in a deal reported to exceed $100 million annually. He also placed more than $1.25 million in bitcoin bets on Super Bowl LVI and streamed on Twitch as “Stakedrake,” where he gave away about $1 million in bitcoin, or around 35 BTC, to fans. After the FTX collapse in November 2022, he posted a diamond-covered Ledger hardware wallet on Instagram. The source also notes that Drake invested in Moonpay and shared pro-bitcoin content, including clips from Michael Saylor, with his social media audience.
Out of 43 songs, only “Dust” carried crypto references
Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honour were Drake’s first major solo releases since 2023’s For All the Dogs. Reviews were harsh, with The Guardian calling the triple release a “boring, bloated disaster,” and the Los Angeles Times and Irish Times reaching similar conclusions. Even so, “Dust” cut through the wider reaction because it was the only song in the set to mention bitcoin, crypto, FTX, or Bankman-Fried at all.
At the time of the release, bitcoin was trading in the high five figures. Some crypto accounts treated the lyric as a mainstream culture moment for bitcoin. Others leaned into the old “Drake curse” meme after bitcoin briefly dipped following the drop. The source also says prediction markets on Polymarket had active bets on whether Drake would mention crypto in the release. In the end, that call landed on one track only: “Dust.”