Making a U-turn from his previous dismissal of Bitcoin and calling it “garbage,” Shark Tank judge Kevin O’Leary now seems to have harboured some big hopes in the cryptocurrency department. At a time when US President Donald Trump is already butting heads with the Federal Reserve and aim to make America the “crypto capital of the world,” ‘Mr Wonderful’ has predicted a trillion-dollar prize thanks to the digital currency’s surge. However, that doesn’t come without its own share of road blocks and bad news along the way.
Having once turned his back on the modern payment alternative, the Canadian entrepreneur now has about 19.4% of crypto-related assets in his portfolio, according to Moneywise. “I never thought I’d say this, but I want more regulation, and I want it now,” he said at the Consensus crypto conference in Toronto earlier this year. But, for now, as we await the said “regulation” to go into effect, O’Leary signalled that the nearly two-decade growth in the industry seems to have come to a dead-end. “We have hit a wall on AUM (assets under management),” he added.
Once a ladder allows the crypto world to climb over the so-called “wall,” the trillion-dollar boom forecast would be just steps away, as per the Shark Tank star. And the ladder in question is nothing but a few major US Congress bills. Trump alone has made a staggering leap in his net worth thanks to crypto.
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According to a Forbes investigation, published this June, the US president has cashed in on about $1 billion on crypto, bringing his overall net worth to an estimated $5.6 billion.
US Congress bill that could give crypto a trillion-dollar boost, according to Kevin O’Leary
One of these bills that will help crypto establish its hold even further is the stablecoin legislation known as the GENIUS Act, which the Trump administration signed into the first official US crypto law in July. “The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act) will protect consumers, enable responsible innovation, and safeguard the dominance of the US dollar,” said Sen Kristen Gillibrand, one of the bill’s sponsors.
As reported by Moneywise, analysts have previously maintained that this particular bill could help the market with a $2.5 trillion boost.
“Currency trading is a multitrillion-dollar market. And it’s old and ugly and inefficient,” the Shark Tank judge said in Toronto. “…The biggest threat to that monopoly or oligopoly, if you want to call it that, is a stablecoin that’s regulated.”
Shark Tank star also relying on CLARITY Act
With the GENIUS Act now in motion, O’Leary was positive about the second crucial ‘market structure bill,’ aka the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act finding momentum. And it did, as the House passed the legislation in a 294-134 vote in July as well.
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Referred to as the CLARITY Act, for short, it would “give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) a central role in regulating digital commodities and related intermediaries while preserving certain aspects of Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) authority over primary market crypto transactions, subject to a new limited exemption from SEC registration requirements for fundraising,” according to the official US Congress website.
While a White House press release dated July 18 confirmed that President Trump signed GENIUS Act in Law, the companion bill, the CLARITY Act moved to the Senate and has yet to be signed into Law.
This story is based on Kevin O’Leary’s comments. The details, opinions, and statements quoted herein belong solely to him and do not reflect the views of Financialexpress.com.
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