Kevin O’Leary Gives Crypto His Approval

The famed business mogul spoke with crypto influencer Anthony Pompliano to share his recent thoughts on the growing sector.

Pomp & O’Leary

Kevin O’Leary, the famous billionaire known for his work on SharkTank (and once an avid critic of crypto), has now launched his own cryptocurrency investment fund. It seems another billionaire investor has found their place in the crypto community, and O’Leary joins Goldman Sachs in making an investment effort after publicly denouncing crypto. In an interview with crypto influencer Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano, O’Leary joined the show to discuss his thoughts on the crypto world. 

So when did O’Leary get into crypto? He says that:

 “In 2017, I had started buying some Bitcoin and some Ethereum. I started talking about crypto and woah, what a negative response it had been.”

O’Leary, despite the negative feedback from those around him, decided to go ahead and put 3% of his portfolio into cryptocurrency. 

What originally got O’Leary into crypto was his team always looking for places to store cash. He says that, “What got me into this (crypto) was we were always trying to find a place for our cash.” Now, O’Leary believes that “DeFi is where the puck is going.” Environmental concerns have not changed O’Leary’s position with Bitcoin in terms of the long haul. Once a crypto critic, O’Leary has dove into the market head-first, and is looking for new ways to utilize the power of blockchain technology to his advantage, such as yield farming. 

O’Leary and Yield 

One of the biggest appeals of crypto to O’Leary is being able to stake and earn from holding crypto. He talks of how early when he was getting involved in crypto, he and his team kickstarted their efforts by focusing on the promising yields on simple investments. O’Leary is currently “way deep into that now” and has favorably compared crypto to gold, noting there is no way to earn yields off of gold, making crypto a more dynamic asset.

O’Leary soon plans to soon launch DeFi Ventures and is considering moving 8-10% of his portfolio into crypto, as many big investors have 3% of their portfolio locked in crypto, and O’Leary could get a head-start with a larger portfolio, Has the recent volatility shaken O’Leary’s confidence? Nope. He explained his stance in the interview, saying that:

“Volatility is good for yield, it helps you mine yield from your crypto.”

Short, simple, and sweet. The truth is, O’Leary is spot-on with his analysis. Volatility leads to the high APR/Y numbers from vaults, as a steadily increasing token will have to lower its yields or face inflationary concerns.

O’Leary and a Crypto Future

O’Leary also believes in the disruptive nature and potential of crypto. In the interview, he claims: 

“You have less than 1% of global corporations even thinking about crypto, so as time passes, and they see examples of what I’m doing and what others are doing, they will begin to tiptoe in. You’re talking about billions of dollars sitting on balance sheets doing nothing. That’s going to be bad news. The more money that goes in, the lower the yields.”

What about large investment companies that own crypto? O’Leary did talk about the negative press that has shown crypto negatively affecting companies recent balance sheets. Companies that have crypto may be down now, but as noted by O’Leary, with crypto they can stake their holdings and earn high yielding interest, regardless of how the market performs. This potential to earn yields seems to be the most enticing element of crypto for O’Leary, which is a very positive thing for lovers of DeFi. He is also right about the future of yields; the unprecedented high ROI that users are seeing now will most certainly dissipate as mass adoption occurs, which is slightly concerning for avid farmers.

Significance of O’Leary’s Belief

Kevin O’Leary is another gigantic public billionaire who has stepped into the spotlight and shown his appreciation for the value crypto can bring. O’Leary is not the first billionaire investor to share his involvement with crypto, and it certainly seems like he won’t be the last. It ponders the question – are we seeing the early signs of a growing snowball of involvement by the greater investment / finance community, moving their way into the crypto world? Time will tell, but the crypto space has been garnering tons of momentum in recent days, even though the extreme market volatility has shaken some investors and provided crypto-critical media outlets the cannon fodder they always seem to be looking for. Despite these setbacks, it seems investors like O’Leary and companies such as Goldman Sachs have not been scared out of the space. If anything, the attention brought to crypto during the dips has made its presence stronger, and solidified its community into true proponents of the concept. 

To watch the full interview between Anthony Pompliano and Kevin O’Leary, click here!

About Kevin O’Leary

Kevin O’Leary is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and television host. O’Leary started his own software company in his basement along with partner Gary Babcock. His mother provided the seed investment of $10,000 which he used to start software publisher SoftKey. Leary took control as president of the Boston based company after Babcock’s departure, and in 1999, the Learning Company was sold to Mattel for $3.7 billion USD.

In March 2007 O’Leary joined the advisory board of Genstar Capital, a private equity firm that focuses on investments in selected segments of life science and healthcare services, industrial technology, business services and software. Genstar Capital appointed O’Leary to its Strategic Advisory Board to seek new investment opportunities for its $1.2 billion fund. Kevin now has an office in West Palm Beach Florida.

About Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano

Anthony Pompliano is an entrepreneur and investor. He has built and sold numerous companies, ran Product & Growth teams at Facebook, and manages a portfolio valued at more than $500 million in early-stage tech companies. Pomp spends the majority of his time identifying and supporting great founders, and is well-known in crypto circles as a friend of the industry.

Source : bsc.news