Kevin O’Leary, founder of O’Leary Ventures and investor on Shark Tank, would fire Coinbase’s CEO if he had the choice in light of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crackdown on crypto. According to Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, cryptocurrencies are “radioactive waste” for institutional investors until the SEC reaches an agreement with the leaders of the digital asset space.
Kevin O’Leary stands in support of Gary Gensler and the SEC
Kevin O’Leary, aka “Mr. Wonderful,” criticized Coinbase Global (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong for “butting heads” with the SEC. Tuesday, the regulatory arm filed a lawsuit against the crypto platform for operating as an exchange, facilitator, and clearinghouse without registering with the regulator.
The SEC alleged that Coinbase also offered and sold securities without registering its offers and sales. O’Leary has been a supporter of the crypto industry and was tied to the FTX and SBF case. Kevin O’Leary reportedly said of Armstrong:
He’s a pioneer […] But if he worked for me, I’d fire him. I don’t want to go to war with [SEC Chair Gary Gensler].
Kevin O’Leary
Following the lawsuit, Coinbase’s stock plummeted Tuesday. O’Leary stated that he would have withdrawn his funds if he were a member of Coinbase’s board of directors or a shareholder. He said he would not invest in service “at war” with the SEC.
Kevin O’Leary attributed a significant portion of Coinbase’s dispute with the SEC to Armstrong. Armstrong claimed that the SEC altered its tone and remained silent after questioning the company last year, following the filing of the lawsuit on Tuesday – an example of Armstrong spending too much time “butting heads,” according to O’Leary.
I’m actually happy this is happening […] Because of the potential of this asset class, it has been stymied. It’s stuck in the mud, if you want to use those words.
Kevin O’Leary
Coinbase filed a lawsuit against the SEC in April, following a warning that the regulator might take action against them, in an effort to compel the regulator to disclose whether it would alter securities rules for digital assets such as cryptocurrencies or maintain the same rule-making processes as other securities.
Kevin O’Leary stated that he has substantial issues with the crypto industry beyond the litigation. It has been stagnant for three years due to a lack of “institutional interest,” as he explained. Bitcoin, an industry bar, has not changed in value, and it is difficult to locate crypto being used anywhere due to a lack of interest, he said.
O’Leary calls crypto a radioactive waste
Kevin O’Leary believes that the crypto industry will not experience any capital gains until the SEC’s regulatory crackdowns on Binance and Coinbase are resolved. The market veteran and active crypto investor stated on Wednesday to Fox Business:
I’ve talked to sovereign wealth, I’ve talked to institutions in the last 48 hours, and they’ve said this makes this asset class radioactive waste. We are not going to touch this until this thing is resolved.
Kevin O’Leary
O’Leary stated that SEC Chair Gary Gensler is ‘razor-clear’ on what he wants, which is to classify bitcoin as a security and regulate its trading on broker-dealer exchanges.
You could get a trillion dollars worth of assets for an allocation of just 3% in sovereign wealth. You could open the spigots, you could really make this industry take off and own it domestically. But read the tea leaves, read the room, read Gensler’s lips.
Kevin O’Leary
The crypto community remains torn on how O’Leary would fire an exec like Armstrong, who has held his fort in dignity while he still supports crypto villain SBF after all the pain he put investors through after the collapse of FTX.
