Entrepreneur and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful. He revealed that he now owns more digital currencies than gold.
During an interview hosted by Stansberry Research’s Daniela Cambon, O’Leary stated that his portfolio has more exposure to cryptocurrencies than gold, however, he still advocates holding both because they are “two different asset classes” and comparisons between gold and Bitcoin are irrelevant:
“I have 5% gold. First time cryptocurrency is more than gold to me, and I will keep my gold. I see no reason to sell it.”
“The best way to look at it is, if you are an investor, you either believe in decentralized finance and centralized finance, and you believe in bitcoin, ethereum and blockchain, or you don’t. If you don’t, stay in gold as a hedge, and if you do, flip it.”
For the first time ever, cryptocurrencies are showing more than gold Tweet embed Tweet embed Tweet embed Tweet embed Tweet embed https://t.co/Afhz59Fljv
– Kevin O’Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) October 2, 2021
O’Leary’s crypto portfolio allocation appears to be around 6%, as he stated that he plans to reach 7% by the end of the year, with investments split between digital assets and blockchain companies:
“I will now be 7% hoping by the end of the year, so I believe in that. I am invested in it. I have placed many bets with different companies now that are developing products in these areas and I am very comfortable with where I am sitting.”
“So I am happy to hear from anyone. But I am sorry, I disagree with the answer is ‘You have no exposure to cryptocurrency,'” he added.
Speaking about investment opportunities in the crypto sector, O’Leary also stated that he is not “betting on the price of Bitcoin anymore” as he emphasized the potential of the broader ecosystem.
“There are many other ways to invest, particularly in blockchain opportunities. Solana, Ethereum, you know, I mean, there are many different layers. And then of course, the second layer is the derivatives that put on top of Ethereum and Solana and all the others,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of the US government banning bitcoin and cryptocurrency in the future, the 67-year-old said he “doesn’t see a situation where cryptocurrencies disappear,” as he believes the government does not want to fall behind in inventing payment technologies:
“The productivity improvements available through cryptocurrencies and the complete infrastructure of decentralized finance are very interesting even for governments.”
“I don’t think the US government wants to be left behind in developing new online payment systems and services,” he added.
Related: Gensler Confirms SEC Won’t Ban Cryptocurrencies… But Congress Can
Wonderful has a growing presence in cryptocurrencies in 2021, and his recent comments offer a stark contrast to his January description of Bitcoin (BTC) as “nothing giant.”
Cointelegraph reported in August that O’Leary signed a multi-year deal to serve as a brand ambassador and spokesperson for crypto exchange FTX. As part of the deal, the entrepreneur also opted to be paid with crypto assets for his promotional services.
