Kevin O’Leary Warns US Crypto Regulation Getting ‘Very Aggressive’ — ‘You’ve Got to Stay out of the Way of SEC’

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has warned that U.S. crypto regulation is “getting very, very aggressive.” Noting that regulators are now “regulating by enforcement, penalties, and massive fines,” O’Leary emphasized the importance of staying out of the way of the SEC, Chair Gary Gensler, and other regulators.

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary has shared his outlook for the crypto industry following several enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Mr. Wonderful tweeted Monday:

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.

“The venture community has moved on to the next ‘big’ thing, AI,” he added.

O’Leary explained in an interview with Trader TV Live, published Sunday, that following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, U.S. lawmakers are “pissed” about having to regularly meet to deal with the failures of crypto companies. Senators are “fatigued” and “really tired of gathering every six months when the next crypto company blows up and goes to zero,” the Shark Tank star described. He believes this is one of the reasons SEC Chairman Gary Gensler recently came down “heavy-handed” on crypto exchange Kraken over its staking program.

Emphasizing the SEC’s enforcement-centric approach to regulating the crypto industry, O’Leary cautioned:

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 cryptocurrency exchanges will be put out of business or go to zero by the regulators over the next few years. He stressed:

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,” O’Leary concluded.

The Shark Tank star said earlier this month that most crypto tokens are worthless, emphasizing that they will “eventually just go to zero.” O’Leary was recently slammed by the crypto community for his continued support of the disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). Mr. Wonderful was paid $15 million to become a spokesperson for FTX.

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