Canadian entrepreneur and television star Kevin O'Leary has suggested that the era of “crypto cowboys” will be over as the cryptocurrency industry moves towards regulation.
O'Leary, who previously served as a paid spokesperson for the now-defunct FTX exchange, made the comments during an interview with CoinDesk.
“All the crypto cowboys, the founders of this industry… they're all going to be gone soon. They're all wounded in some way,” O'Leary said.
Despite this, O'Leary remains optimistic about the future of cryptocurrencies, but insists on only working with fully regulated exchanges.
O'Leary's relationship with FTX, for which he reportedly received $15.7 million for various services, had been questioned by some executives within the company, including the company's former Chief Operating Officer Constance Wang.
In a previous interview with Fox Business, O'Leary expressed concerns about the United States' regulatory environment pushing innovative crypto firms to other countries. It had announced plans for a new exchange in Abu Dhabi called M2, which aims to replace both FTX and Binance.
O'Leary said, “It hasn't been announced yet, but they are planning to establish a new exchange in Abu Dhabi. An exchange that is completely legal, backed by billions of dollars, incredibly stable, has ownership transparency and can be used legally by anyone in the world… It will become the new standard in exchanges.” said.
Despite the challenges facing the industry, O'Leary remains hopeful about the potential of cryptocurrencies. He concluded his words by saying, “The promises of the crypto concept are still valid, they are still there.”
*This is not investment advice.