Kevin O'Leary: Why Bitcoin is Here to Stay (Exclusive Interview)

Kevin O’Leary, who recently allocated 3% of his portfolio in BTC, has no plans to sell his coins anytime soon, the millionaire told CryptoPotato in a recent exclusive interview.

He also noted that 2021 is a pivotal year for Bitcoin as more and more institutions are looking to enter the space but are wary of energy consumption concerns.

O’Leary In Bitcoin For The Long Run

The 66-year old O’Leary is a businessman, author, politician, and perhaps best known for his participation as one of the hosts in the reality TV show Shark Tank. The millionaire has recently changed his mind on bitcoin and allocated 3% of his portfolio to the primary cryptocurrency.

During Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, which became the largest-ever Bitcoin event, CryptoPotato had the chance to speak with the prominent investor about his views on the industry and BTC in particular.

Just a few days before the conference started, Bitcoin had concluded May, which had been the second-worst month for its price in its 11-year history. The monthly high touched the $60K mark on May 10, only to crash 50% just nine days later, on May 19.

O’Leary isn’t worried about it at all:

“I don’t care if it goes down $20,000 or up $20,000. I’m not selling it. One bitcoin is one bitcoin. I’m in it for the long run.”

He even mentions the benefit of the asset’s extreme volatility, as he has put his bitcoins to work on various DeFi projects that earn him even higher interest due to the increasing volatility.

Musk Was Pressured By Tesla’s Shareholders

A big part of the latest volatility of bitcoin’s price came after Elon Musk started tweeting about it. Most recently, Musk addressed the ESG issues of the mining process. Consequently, Tesla dropped BTC as a payment method, causing a plunge in its price.

However, O’Leary also said that he understands why Tesla’s founder would do it. “After all, his car company (Tesla) is more valuable than the Bitcoin he has.”

When asked if he is worried that one tweet can impact the price of bitcoin, sometimes even by more than 10%, as it often happens when Musk tweets, O’Leary replied that he is not concerned.

ESG or When Institutional Money Will Come To Bitcoin

BTC’s ESG issues caught the world’s attention after Elon Musk cited them as the reason why the EV-maker he runs, Tesla, disable bitcoin payments for its products. Since then, the topic has become widely discussed with many trying to find the solution, including the formation of the Bitcoin Mining Council, in which Musk and Michael Saylor had a vital role.

Although in the past year or so, numerous institutions announced their entrance into the BTC space by enabling various bitcoin-related services or purchasing substantial quantities of the asset, O’Leary actually believes that more large organizations are preparing to come on board.

But, this could only happen once the ESG issues of bitcoin mining are resolved:

Consequently, he added that such a development of this kind would potentially increase the price of bitcoin significantly.

No Other Coin Will Replace Bitcoin

Speaking about institutional money and other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, O’Leary has a strict opinion.

Bitcoin ETF in the US: Need a Few More Years

On the topic of if or when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve a Bitcoin ETF in the country, O’Leary warned that it might take at least a few more years.

On the contrary, the Canadian-born businessman outlined that his home nation has already approved a few exchange-traded funds tracking the performance of Bitcoin. Those products are already live on some Canadian exchanges, and he noted that American investors can get a piece of the action as well across the border.

Additionally, O’Leary believes the approvals in Canada are a good signal that the US will eventually follow suit as the world’s largest nation by nominal GDP wouldn’t want to trail behind.