Kevin O’Leary – a popular Canadian investor and host of the TV show Shark Tank – believes the unregulated cryptocurrency environment will cause the collapse of other companies. However, he remains a proponent of the industry, admitting that he invested 5% of his wealth in bitcoin.
Kevin O’Leary recently predicted that the downfall of FTX won’t be the last similar occurrence in the cryptocurrency field in an interview with Kitco News. According to him, certain “unregulated exchanges” are reluctant to collaborate with an auditing company to offer reliable liquidity information, which has turned institutions away.
“If you’re asking me if there’s going to be another meltdown to zero? Absolutely. One hundred percent it’ll happen, and it’ll keep happening over and over and over again.”
Recall that Mazars Group, an auditing firm, recently ceased all engagement with cryptocurrency clients owing to concerns about how platforms portray their proof-of-reserves (Binance and Crypto.com were previous clients).
“Frankly, you know, it’s very hard to find an auditor that wants to touch this stuff right now because of the unregulated cowboy environment. It’s all going to end, and yes, there’ll be many more zeros,” the Canadian added.
Despite his concerns with trading venues, O’Leary remains a keen supporter of the digital asset industry, particularly bitcoin. He admitted buying BTC amounts recently, while in total, his allocation to it represents 5% of his wealth.
Kevin O’Leary Saga With FTX
Before the exchange’s demise, the businessman was one of FTX’s most ardent supporters. He signed a $15 million contract to serve as its ambassador. O’Leary also declared in October last year (a few weeks before the infamous crash) that the platform is among the safest places for investors.
Kevin O’Leary also owns 139,000 Class A Common Shares and 12,631 Series A Preferred Shares of West Realm Shires, the company that controls FTX US, and 25,944 Common Shares and 6,486 Series B-1 Preferred Shares of FTX Trading, respectively, through his investment company O’Leary Ventures.
He has since lost all of those funds but refused to classify Sam Bankman-Fried (the former CEO of FTX) as a fraudster.
