Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Refers to US Crypto Regulations as ‘Very Aggressive’
Kevin O’Leary, one of the stars of the popular U.S. television series Shark Tank recently shared his forecast for the cryptocurrency industry. His comments come on the heels of several enforcement actions being taken against industry participants by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. O’Leary tweeted:
“Venture funding for new crypto projects is virtually dead and aftermarket trading for existing projects is at massive discounts. Reason? The regulator is now regulating by enforcement, penalties, and massive fines,” adding “The venture community has moved on to the next ‘big’ thing, AI.”
During an interview with Trader TV, O’Leary explained that after the breakdown of the FTX exchange U.S. lawmakers are “pissed” over needing to continuously address the failures of crypto-based firms. Senators have become “fatigued” and have grown “really tired of gathering every six months when the next crypto company blows up and goes to zero,” the television star explained.
He feels this is just one of the reasons why SEC Chairperson Gary Gensler was “heavy-handed” with the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange with regard to its staking program. Speaking about the SEC’s approach to regulating the digital asset industry, O’Leary stated:
“That kind of environment is getting very, very aggressive and the regulators are being applauded on by the senators and congressmen and women who are saying ‘What is this? We’ve had enough of this stuff.”
O’Leary warned that unregulated exchanges will be forced by regulators to close their doors over the next few years, stressing that:
“You got to get on board with regulation. You’ve got to stay out of the way of Gensler and the SEC, and other regulators. Those hombres in Washington are not happy…FTX poked the bear. The bear’s awake and it’s pissed.”
Earlier this month, O’Leary shared his opinion that most virtual tokens are worthless, predicting that these digital assets will “eventually just go to zero.” The Shark Tank star took quite a beating from the cryptocurrency community for his continual support of Sam Bankman-Fried. O’Leary was paid roughly $15 million USD to be a spokesperson for the FTX exchange.