How did billionaire Shark Tank Judge and Cryptocurrency keynote speaker Kevin O’Leary go from crypto critic to crypto cheerleader? You may have read that for years O’Leary had harsh words for cryptocurrencies, calling them “garbage,” “useless,” and “a colossal nothingburger.” Now 20% of his investment portfolio is made up of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Hedera, Polygon, Serum, and Solana. So what happened to change O’Leary’s mind? Four things, actually.

Countries Changed the Rules on Institutional Investing

One of the primary things holding O’Leary back from cryptocurrency investing was the lack of government regulation. Now that some countries, including his native Canada, have loosened restrictions on institutional purchases of cryptocurrencies, he sees crypto as an asset to invest, just like any other asset. And just like any other asset, he has diversified his portfolio into several currencies.

Some Currencies Have Been Widely Adopted

According to Investopedia, there are currently over 18,000 cryptocurrencies in the world. Most of them have little value. However, now that a small number of cryptocurrencies have been widely adopted, Kevin O’Leary sees them as more stable assets. He believes their eventual success and value will be determined by their speed and level of adoption. This is one of the reasons he is a big investor in Ethereum—because it has been widely adopted.

Hedge Against Inflation

O’Leary sees cryptocurrencies as the new gold, which is an asset typically purchased to guard against inflation. Kevin O’Leary has said that in his personal opinion, “Bitcoin is never going to zero.” So he is including it in his portfolio, just like he would do with any other precious metal of value. 

Sustainability Energy Investments

Finally, O’Leary sees a potential for good returns from cryptocurrency mining, especially in the area of developing sustainable energy sources to mine it. Currently, mining a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin uses more energy than the country of Norway. However, only about 39% of that energy is estimated to come from sustainable sources (such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, and nuclear). Kevin O’Leary sees large potential returns in investing in the transmission lines from sustainable sources, which he believes will grow as cryptocurrency becomes more widely adopted.

In the past few years, Kevin O’Leary has gone from crypto critic to crypto cheerleader. After years of criticizing cryptocurrencies, he sees the wide adoption by investors and governments as a sign these currencies can be invested in just like any other asset. If you would like to learn more about cryptocurrencies, contact BigSpeak Speakers Bureau to book Kevin O’Leary or another cryptocurrency expert for your next event.

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