Disgraced AFL legend, Mark “Bomber” Thompson, has revealed he became obsessed with trading cryptocurrency while addicted to the drug ice – but he still “believes” in Bitcoin.

The former coach of Australian Football League Club’s Geelong and Essendon is currently in court fighting three drug trafficking charges after police raided his apartment in Port Melbourne in January 2018.

The 53-year-old’s AFL coaching career ended in 2014 when the club he was coaching was rocked by a supplements scandal, of which he had no involvement in.

“I’m a drug taker and I’m sad that I’m a drug taker … I took drugs back then to mask all the pain,” he told the Melbourne Magistrates Court today.

Discovering Bitcoin

After leaving the “football world”, Thompson told the court he came across cryptocurrency trading tutorials on YouTube which lead to spending his days trading crypto while locked in his apartment.

“Here I am in 2017 at home, I found cryptocurrency, your Honour, it’s something I’d been looking for in my life,” he said.

“It was intense, I was under pressure, I did it 12 hours a day by myself.”

He soon began taking ice and estimates he traded up to AU$3m worth of Bitcoin while using the drug.

Now facing jail time and with a reputation in tatters, the Australian sporting icon still believes his drug-fuelled investing may pay off.

“Bitcoin is still going to be a big thing. I’m a believer,” he added in court.

His case has been adjourned until next month.