Regulation
Bitcoin adoption on Wall Street is being hampered by regulatory scrutiny, Shark Tank expert says.
In recent news, Kevin O’Leary, a prominent figure on “Shark Tank,” has expressed doubts about the likelihood of major Wall Street institutions investing in Bitcoin. Benzinga notes that this skepticism arises despite recent initiatives by asset managers such as BlackRock and Fidelity to establish Bitcoin Spot ETF.
During Interview with CoinBaseO’Leary expressed concerns about ongoing federal oversight of the cryptocurrency industry, led by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. He believes that this oversight poses a major obstacle for these institutions.
“They don’t own any of it, and they won’t own any of it as long as Gensler is suing everybody,” O’Leary said.
The SEC has recently filed several lawsuits against key industry players, including crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance. The argument is that many of the tokens traded are unregulated securities. O’Leary suggests that this lawsuit limits the options for companies like BlackRock, calling into question the viability of launching an ETF on an exchange with regulatory oversight.
O’Leary also discussed Binance’s decline and the intense pressure on its co-founder Changpeng Zhao. He questioned the likelihood of institutional involvement under such circumstances.
Additionally, O’Leary commented on the ongoing trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, whose mismanagement led to the collapse of the FTX exchange last year. He suggested that the era of “crypto cowboys” was coming to an end and that without regulatory approval in the US, the industry might not grow as expected. Understandably, he is cautious about the current state of affairs. cryptocurrencygiven that he is said to have lost just under US$15 million personally as a result of the collapse.
Despite the skepticism, O’Leary suggested that more transparent crypto exchanges could emerge in other parts of the world. These could potentially attract interest from institutions. However, the current regulatory environment in the United States appears to be a significant obstacle for large Wall Street institutions. invest in bitcoin.
This story was produced by Benzinga and revised and distributed by Stacker Media.