Shark Tank multimillionaire investor Kevin O’Leary has slammed the Ethereum network as “too slow” and voiced his concern that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is meeting its end of the bargain as a crypto regulator.
The renowned investor went on to urge U.S. regulators to craft rules that will keep the crypto markets in check, noting the danger of leaving the digital currency space unwatched. O’Leary asserted that crypto adoption will be accelerated when people gain confidence in the reliability of a well regulated crypto environment.
While speaking to CNBC in an interview, the investor warned about the high possibility that Ethereum fans will start looking for alternatives if things don’t change. His statement was pegged on the assumption that crypto investors may shift their focus to stablecoins that offer better value than other digital assets.
O’Leary’s sentiment on crypto regulation came hot in the heels of recent warnings by the SEC to sue Coinbase if it unveils a product offering that would pay stablecoin owners 4percent interest on their savings.
Coinbase, which happens to be the biggest crypto exchange in the United States had recently sounded the alarm over the SEC threat concerning the high yielding crypto asset deposits.
Reportedly, the SEC opposed the firm’s Lend product on grounds of violating securities laws. The issue was raised following questions whether Coinbase will be trading or offering financial products to customers that are classified as securities, which would actually fall within SEC’s regulatory mandate.
SEC’s recent voice may indicate that the regulatory body has been keeping tabs with all recent happenings within the crypto industry – especially because of the fact that a number of crypto exchanges have been making big moves across the highly-regulated financial sector.
Why O’Leary’s Comments Matter
Past media reports have quoted O’Leary’s apparent support for cryptocurrency, which has been coupled with a number of hard-hitting quotes about Bitcoin’s possibilities. The investor once intimated that he had allocated 3 percent of his investment portfolio to Bitcoin.
In a revelation to Yahoo Finance Live, O’Leary said that the decision to make the crypto allocation was inspired by eased governmental restrictions on institutional purchases of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
Now – before you get tempted to dismiss the investor’s potential influence on cryptocurrency, it is worth noting that Bitcoin is largely driven by speculation that may be shaped by thought leaders such as O’Leary.
In fact, it has been on record that Tesla tech billionaire Elon Musk has been shaking Bitcoin prices through mere tweeting. Musk’s tweets, even though he has not admitted to gaining financially from them, have affected crypto investor behavior in the recent past.
Overall, the influence of celebrity investor opinions on crypto prices point to the worrying realities of digital asset investments. The solidity of markets seem to be highly unstable and subject to simple investor shocks that would make and break individual fortunes.
