Former Tottenham Hotspur manager urges people to get involved with Electroneum in rare tweet firm says he was not paid for

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Warnings about bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are coming from all directions. The City watchdog has said the bitcoin industry is unregulated and investors could be wiped out. Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan, has called them a fraud and said the entire bitcoin system will blow up. Even Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, has said cryptocurrencies are risky and used by criminals.

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But the former West Ham United, Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City manager Harry Redknapp tweeted on Thursday to say he was “proper excited” about Electroneum, a new crypocurrency being launched in the UK. “I’m in. Get involved,” he urged his 213,000 followers in his first tweet since August.

Harry Redknapp (@Redknapp) Proper excited about Mobile Cryptocurrency! I'm in, get involved! https://t.co/mvHfi14Z2G @electroneum #Electroneum

Redknapp, 70, joined Twitter in 2015 and usually uses it to comment on football matters, promote his book and publicise his work with the online gaming company Betsafe.

In his defence at his trial for tax evasion in 2012, when he was acquitted, Redknapp said he was a terrible businessman and “a bit of a gambler” whose lack of investment nous had nearly “wiped out” his son Jamie. When it came to technology, he said he could not work a computer, did not know what an email was and had never sent a text message.

Richard Ells, the founder of Electroneum, which is attempting to raise up to $40m (£30m), said the one-time favourite for the England football manager’s job was not working for the company.

electroneum (@electroneum) Harry has bought some Electroneum and isn't being paid for this - he's just excited as are the other 70,000 @electroneum buyers so far. 😀

But Ells said Redknapp’s tweet had prompted four Premier League footballers to get in touch. Redknapp could not be reached for comment.