Kevin O’Leary explains how he went from calling crypto ‘garbage’ to the ‘murder’ of his money in FTX collapse
The 'Shark Tank' investor also said that he would back disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried again if given the chance
Early cryptocurrency investor Nikki Beesetti says in the future, she plans to cash out her crypto assets early to 'reap the benefits and rewards.'
"Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary, while discussing fallout from crypto exchange platform FTX's bankruptcy, explained how he went from calling crypto "garbage" to it causing the "murder" of his money.
"Fact changed," he said Thursday.
After the governments of Canada, Switzerland and Australia all got behind cryptocurrency, O’Leary said he saw an opportunity.
"Wait a second," he said. The "world’s changing. I got to be an investor."
O’Leary said he felt that "getting involved" in FTX would give him "an inside seat" in the company.
The "Shark Tank" star also revealed that he lost millions after FTX collapsed. His most recent comments came just weeks after he said that he would still back disgraced FTX founder Sam-Bankman Fried again if he had the chance.
'Shark Tank' investor spoke out about the FTX debacle after saying he would back Sam Bankman-Fried again.
"I put about $9.7 million into crypto. I think that’s what I’ve lost. It’s all at zero. I don’t know because my account got scrapped a couple of weeks ago. All the data, all the coins, everything. Then I lost the money I invested in the equity as well. Those are zeros as well," O’Leary said on the CNBC show "Squawk Box."
And that was only a fracton of it, O’Leary pointed out. The "total deal" with FTX was "just under $15 million… all-in."
The deal also included a "bunch of agents" from the powerful Screen Actors Guild, according to O’Leary.
But not everyone felt sorry for O’Leary, who served as a spokesman for FTX before the company’s rapid downfall. FOX Business host Charles Payne grilled O’Leary and others like him for "feeling sorry for themselves."
"‘Oh, I lost a lot of money.’ No one gives a damn how much you lost," he said.
Grit Capital CEO Genevieve Roch-Decter also took aim at O’Leary on "Making Money" Wednesday for telling her that "he would invest again" in Bankman-Fried.
"I was shocked," she told Payne. "He told me even after the facts have come out from the bankruptcy proceedings that say that Alameda Research and FTX, from inception to the end of 2021… they lost money. They lost money potentially using other people's money. I don't know how much bigger of an advantage you can have [than] doing that. And Kevin says, I would still invest in him."
Grit Capital CEO Genevieve Roch-Decter gives her take on investor-entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary's response to the FTX scandal on 'Making Money.'
O’Leary also appeared on the YouTube show "Crypto Banter" roughly three weeks ago, telling thousands of live viewers that "yes," he would invest in Bankman-Fried again. "He was one of the most brilliant traders in the crypto universe."
But when asked about Bankman-Fried’s possible guilt behind the FTX disaster on Thursday, O’Leary changed the subject.
KEVIN O'LEARY SLAMMED FOR RESPONSE TO FTX COLLAPSE
"There’s only the murder of my money in this case," he said.
"It’s murder of FTX’s money," CNBC host Joe Kernen shot back.
"It’s everybody’s," O’Leary said, disagreeing with Kernen.
"If you want to say he's guilty before he's tried, I just don't understand it," O’Leary added.
The Shark Tank investor went on to say that he remained "an advocate" for the crypto industry.
"The promise of crypto remains," he said. "This will not change it."
EX-CRYPTO BOSS SAM BANKMAN-FRIED SLAMMED FOR COMMITTING ‘PURE AND SIMPLE, GOOD OLD-FASHIONED FRAUD’
O'Leary said that the behind-the-scenes "institutional interest in FTX on the U.S. equity was unbelievable. The amount of people that approached me saying ‘how can I get a piece of this deal.’"
But he emphasized that the money he lost was all his, and not anybody else’s.
Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Robert Herjavec and Lori Greiner are the "Sharks" on ABC's "Shark Tank." (ABC/Patrick Ecclesine)
"Not a single dollar that I lost is anybody else’s money except mine. That’s important for me," he said.
"It was not a good investment," he concluded. "I don’t make great investments all the time. Luckily I make more good ones than bad ones, but that was a bad one."
Bankman-Fried said he will testify before the House less than one week from today in a recent tweet.
"Rep. Waters, and the House Committee on Financial Services: Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain. I'm not sure that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify," he said in a tweet.
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