Kevin O’Leary Calls Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Brilliant,’ Will Back Him Again If Opportunity Arises
- Kevin O’Leary said that if the former CEO of of the now-disgraced crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, launches another venture, he would definitely invest in it.
- The businessman believes that Bankman-Fried has a brilliant mind and he also said that he feels sorry for the former crypto billionaire’s current position.
- He said that SBF would have to suffer “the slings and arrows” of the regulators as well as creditors as he is responsible for wiping out billions from the space.
Multi-millionaire and TV personality Kevin O’Leary is still an avid supporter of the founder and former CEO of the now-disgraced crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, and as per his recent remarks, “Mr. Wonderful” will happily invest in any venture that is spearheaded by the crypto entrepreneur, who is popularly known as SBF in the crypto space.
In a recent interview with Onchain Capital CEO Ran Neuner on Crypto Banter, Kevin O’Leary came out once again in support of SBF despite receiving a strong backlash from the crypto space for accepting a deal which made him a spokesperson and the ambassador for the crypto exchange which currently has more than a million creditors and is facing strong scrutiny from various regulators as well as crypto personalities.
“You can love him or hate him for what’s happened. But he was one of the most brilliant traders in the crypto universe,” said O’Leary in the interview. When asked if he would back Bankman-Fried in a new venture, he said, “The answer would be yes.”
While the reply was not many people were expecting, Kevin O’Leary is known for being one of the most shrewd businessmen around the globe. He was also a judge in a popular show called Shark Tank wherein he made the most lucrative deals with participants.
According to the statements made by O’Leary in the interview, the multi-millionaire who is worth around $400 million approximately, stated that he felt sorry for Bankman-Fried and described him as a brilliant person. He said that SBF would have to suffer “the slings and arrows” of the regulators as well as creditors as he is responsible for wiping out billions from the space.
FTX, prior to its bankruptcy, was worth close to $32 billion following a funding round led by Softbank and Sequoia Capital, two of the biggest names in the venture capital industry. The exchange was founded in 2019 and was initially incubated by Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, who acquire company stocks and FTX Tokens (FTT) as a result of the deal.
Interestingly, Kevin O’Leary revealed that prior to FTX filing for bankruptcy, the businessman was approached by several sovereign wealth funds and pension funds who asked him to bail out FTX from its liquidity crunch by injecting fresh capital into the platform. While he initially considered investing in the exchange, he later changed his mind.
The multi-millionaire revealed that SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s remarks surrounding the collapse of the crypto exchange made him change his mind. Gensler said that the crypto sector is “significantly non-compliant” and more strict rules will be introduced following FTX’s bankruptcy.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
