Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Says He Wants Cryptocurrency Regulated by the U.S. Government
Kevin O’Leary is a successful Canadian businessman who is best known for his role on the television show Shark Tank, where investors are looking to team up with entrepreneurs to invest in their businesses. Over the years, O’Leary has earned the nickname “Mr. Wonderful” because of his no-nonsense advice and quick negotiation tactics to make money. O’Leary is always looking for new ways to invest, and when it comes to cryptocurrency, he’s all in—if U.S. regulators decide to step in and take control first.
O’Leary’s role in investing on ‘Shark Tank’
Shark Tank wasn’t O’Leary’s first adventure into television. Before joining other investors on Shark Tank, he was also featured as an investor on a Canadian show called Dragon’s Den that had a similar format. He quickly stood out as a person who didn’t tiptoe around an issue, primarily when investing his own money. He was seen as a considerable asset for Shark Tank.
O’Leary has been on the show since 2009 and, in that time, has made several significant business deals with entrepreneurs. Some of his most notable investments include Groovebook and Talbott Teas. Both brands were eventually sold to more prominent companies, making the entrepreneurs and O’Leary significant profits for the initial investment.
The other reason that O’Leary stands out from the other sharks on the show is that he prefers to make deals where he is giving the entrepreneurs loans instead of making flat investments. While this tactic is seen to some as trying to profit indefinitely, many entrepreneurs have taken deals with him anyway.
An advocate for regulation in cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is still in its wild west days when it comes to finding investors. As O’Leary has stated, no one wants to be “cowboys” when investing in cryptocurrency. O’Leary is calling for U.S. financial regulators to come in and set some ground rules. O’Leary wants to make sure that there are regulations regarding cryptocurrency being a financial investment, and he also wants regulators to have some oversight over these types of transactions.
The reason that cryptocurrency is still not regulated is that digital assets are not currently classified as securities, which would make it subject to regulatory oversight. The SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is asking Congress to take action on this, providing the Securities and Exchange Commission the authority to step into that position.
O’Leary believes in the possibilities but is waiting for better oversight
When it comes to investing in cryptocurrency, O’Leary is eager to get involved, although he won’t until regulations have been set with the government and financial institutions—and O’Leary isn’t the only one waiting in the wings. In an interview with CNBC, O’Leary said: “I can’t afford to be offside. I cannot afford to be non-compliant,” O’Leary said. “If the regulator finally allowed financial services companies to call it an asset, put it into an ETF in the United States – like they have in Canada and other countries – I’d figure there’d be another trillion dollars worth of buying into bitcoin. And we don’t have that yet, but that’s the opportunity.”
However, some other investors don’t want bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to belong to ETFs because the digital currency was created first to avoid jumping through these hoops to invest in something. O’Leary and other top investors are still waiting to see what will happen next.
