Cryptocurrency Volatility Doesn’t Scare Big Investors, but Compliance Is Needed: Shark Tank Star Kevin O'Leary

With so much hype and talk surrounding cryptocurrency, most people wonder why institutions are still wary about the promising new sector? Why only individual investors are flocking to invest in these virtual currencies but not the big players yet? To be fair, some institutions like MicroStrategy and Tesla have already invested in crypto. But most of the big names haven't yet. Shark Tank star and investor Kevin O'Leary said this is because most big investors want “compliance.” The Canadian businessman dismissed the notion that institutional investors are scared of the volatility, saying rather “they want to play.”

In most parts of the world, cryptocurrency has not received regulatory approval but digital coin trading is allowed.

In an interview with CryptoPotato, O'Leary — popularly known as "Mr Wonderful" from the reality TV series — said, “It's one thing to put a small amount of money to work but when you start talking about a 10 percent allocation of a large pool of capital, you need to integrate that with your compliance system and your accounting system, and your external reporting system.”

O'Leary recently bought a stake in FTX crypto exchange and signed a multi-year deal to become its ambassador and spokesperson. He will be paid in cryptocurrency. He said he is a “test case” for institutions to see whether they should join the rapidly evolving market. Previously, he said he has solved his compliance problems with cryptocurrencies.

In February this year, O'Leary told Bitcoin.com that he has invested 3 percent of his portfolio in Bitcoin and Ether, the two most popular crypto coins.

But “Mr Wonderful” was not always excited about cryptocurrency. Although he owned some Ethereum and Bitcoin personally in 2017, the millionaire investor said he remained outside the cryptocurrency business for long because of the regulatory environment.

Now he is investing in it because the “facts” have changed. “When facts change, I change. I'm a pragmatic investor, I allocate capital along a wide range of asset classes.” He said most of the big, institutional investors are in the Bitcoin business because they see it as a property. O'Leary also said he doesn't think any other cryptocurrency will overtake Bitcoin in terms of market dominance.