Kevin O’Leary says crypto exchanges will continue to “go to zero until we force regulation” on them
Venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary, also known as one of the major investors and once very vocal supporters of the now-defunct cryptocurrency trading platform FTX, has expressed some stark views on unregulated crypto exchanges.
As it happens, the star of the TV show ‘Shark Tank’ said that digital asset exchanges will continue to end in bankruptcy until some strong regulations are imposed on the crypto industry, according to Twitter mail he published on February 23.
His tweet attracted strong criticism from the crypto community, the majority of which suggested that O’Leary’s current views had a lot to do with his experience with FTX, including the blockchain architect MartyPartyWHO stressed that “FTX was never a crypto exchange” but a “honeypot designed by a traditional financial criminal.”
Others have noted that his tweet could be a jab at Binance, as the venture capitalist had speculated that FTX was put out of business in a deliberate move by the rival crypto exchange while testifying before the Senate Banking Committee in December.
At the same time, defense attorney John E. Deaton, popular in the cryptosphere for his coverage of the legal battle between the blockchain company Ripple and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), quoted O’Leary’s tweet and responded by suggesting that he had no right to judge crypto companies .
In particular, Deaton referred to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently awaiting trial on multiple counts of fraud and has been called the “Bernie Madoff of the Crypt” by prominent industry figures, including Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the personal finance book “Rich dad poor dad.”
Calls for regulation
Earlier in February, O’Leary commented on the FTX collapse, saying he didn’t expect much news or dialogue to come out of it other than about recovery, but that the whole situation had “stung the bear in Washington” as it drew policymakers’ attention to the need to regulate crypto.
He also remained adamant that the crypto market was going to see more bankruptcies, predicting “another meltdown to zero” that will “continue to happen over and over again,” and that regulation would minimize the influence of rogue players, as Finbold reported.
