Weighing in on rumblings around a potential Trump-appointed crypto czar, popular entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary called on whoever’s nominated to put an end to regulatory indecision.
“We’ve got to stop these shenanigans because this is a technology that affects all 11 sectors of the economy,” O’Leary said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday.
“It provides efficiency and digital payment systems. And we have to be competitive worldwide.”
According to industry sources familiar with the discussions, President-elect Donald Trump is mulling a position dedicated solely to cryptocurrency policy. It’s unclear whether the role would be a czar type or a White House staff role, but the official holding the position would interact with regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
BITCOIN E.T.F. OPTIONS GO LIVE IN BUSY TRADING. MOST BETS ARE ON GAINS
Two names that come to O’Leary’s mind are former acting U.S. Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
“Brian, of Coinbase, he’s being sued by [SEC Chair] Gensler right now. His company is under litigation from the SEC,” the O’Leary Ventures CEO noted.
“We need a czar here, and we need to start making decisions. Is ethereum a commodity, or is it a security? Pick one and go with it. I don’t care which one it is, but we’ve got to at least pick it,” he added. “We haven’t done that yet.”
The president-elect campaigned heavily among pro-crypto voters, making a stop at crypto bar PubKey in New York City and speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville just weeks before Election Day.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, touched a new all-time high of $94,000 in afternoon trading Wednesday and has advanced over 156% from its 52-week low of $36,815.63 in November 2023, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group.
iShares Bitcoin ETF Trust
The surge in price has lifted crypto exchange-traded funds, driving the assets of the largest, iShares Bitcoin Trust, to over $40 billion and lifting it to a record high.
Other bitcoin ETFs are also seeing high interest.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTC | GRAYSCALE BITCOIN MINI TRT ETF BITCOIN MINI TRUST BTC ETF | 42.92 | +1.08 | +2.58% |
| GBTC | GRAYSCALE BITCOIN TRUST ETF – USD ACC | 76.91 | +1.92 | +2.55% |
| FBTC | FIDELITY WISE ORIGIN BITCOIN FUND – USD ACC | 84.58 | +2.04 | +2.47% |
| ARKB | ARKB – ARK 21SHARES BITCOIN ETF – USD ACC | 96.62 | +2.32 | +2.46% |
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FOX Business’ Suzanne O’Halloran contributed to this report.
