‘Shark Tank’ Star Changes Mind On Bitcoin, Will Invest 3% Of His Portfolio

Businessman Kevin O’Leary referenced investor Dan Loeb’s ‘deep dive’ into cryptocurrency in his decision to fully invest in Bitcoin. Kevin appears on the reality TV show Shark Tank and previously referred to bitcoin as a “giant nothing burger,” has now joined the ‘elite’ laser eye community.

In a tweet on Monday, O’Leary said he would be allocating up to 3% of his portfolio to Bitcoin and looking into investing in sustainable cryptocurrency mining. He added that his investment in the latter would be targeted to avoid ‘blood coins’ – a reference to the unethically mined diamonds – and “under a mandate of 0 carbon.”

Both O’Leary’s Twitter and Instagram profile pictures now show Kevin with the laser eyes that are associated with those people who are keen on cryptocurrency.

O’Leary’s about-face on bitcoin appears to have been somehow influenced by the CEO of New York-based asset management firm Third Point, Dan Loeb. Loeb is also a well-known figure on Wall Street. On March 1, Loeb said that he would do a deep dive into cryptocurrency and look into different ways of bridging the gap between digital assets and traditional finance. O’Leary said:

“Every operating company I’m an investor in is having their Daniel Loeb ‘moment’ regarding putting Bitcoin on their balance sheet. Changes in the regulatory environment have changed my mind about participating.”

Loeb’s entry into the cryptocurrency space as a Wall Street figure had some people speculating he could pave the way for other notable investors still hesitant about the technology and what it means for traditional finance. For investors like O’Leary, with an estimated net worth of over $400 million, it could be mainly profitable.

The Shark Tank star confirmed that he already owned some bitcoin and would readily invest more money. But, he never seemed particularly bullish on cryptocurrency as recently as January 2021. In the past, he referred to digital assets as ‘crypto crap’ and he even said that bitcoin is not a real currency and a ‘giant nothing burger’ in terms of its value as an asset.