Does Bitcoin Need Regulatory Approval?
With the midterms looming and 2 “crypto” bills being figured out on The Hill, the question is whether Bitcoin needs regulatory approval for it to continue its surge north.
Without it, we have seen Bitcoin reach heights of almost $69,045, so do we really need regulatory approval?
According to Mr Wonderful Kevin O’Leary, we do. The Shark Tank investor was speaking at a crypto conference, mainly about cryptos in general, but he said ‘Bitcoin isn’t going to trade above $22,000 until’ regulatory policy is approved.
But is it worth listening to the Angel investor – a former Bitcoin detractor and a self-confessed shitcoiner? Of course it is, he’s a wealth of insider knowledge, and his multiple crypto investments are typical of what he does.
Once Regulation Is Approved, Soveriegn Wealth Capital Will flood The Market
Speaking at Converge 22, Kevin O’Leary didn’t mince his words, when he said the only thing keeping out sovereign wealth capital is a lack of regulatory approval. Although the Shark Tank star did have words of optimism for the Bitcoin price, saying as soon as policy was passed, it would start a flood of money from the world’s biggest money men.
‘The reason we’re stuck is the lack of regulation that keeps the institutional investors out of the space. For all the excitement of Bitcoin and crypto and everything that’s coming, the truth is that none of it is owned by institutions. Zero.’
‘Sovereign wealth and pensions that I service in the indexing business […] are waiting for regulation before they index. If all that happened was sovereign wealth funds out 1-3% in maybe 6 different projects… That’s a trillion dollars’ worth of demand, but none of it will happen until we get some policy.’
O’Leary said he was hopeful of the first bill, Stablecoin Transparency Act, would be passed by the midterms next month, but said it was more likely to come afterwards, although he did say once it is passed it will open the floodgates.
Mr Wonderful was referring to the barrier that a lack of Bitcoin and crypto policy is holding back. The biggest money, the Sovereign Wealth Capital will not buy Canadian or European Bitcoin ETFs or ETPs as they can’t go against the SEC said Uncle Kevin.
‘The real money, the Sovereign Wealth Capital is never going to move against the SEC. Never going to happen,’ said O’Leary. ‘Because they need to be compliant with the SEC rules, so they won’t make a move against SEC until the rules have been determined.’
‘If you ask a big Middle Eastern bank, they’ve got 5 million accounts with over $2m in each one. And they want to just have access to a stablecoin, Bitcoin and another blockchain, and they want to offer it to their clients, but they won’t until there’s regulation. They are getting ready for that to happen.’
But Does Bitcoin Need Regulatory Approval?
Mr Wonderful certainly knows what he’s talking about, and it’s without question that the biggest sovereign funds cannot/will not get into the space without policy. But does Bitcoin really need regulatory approval?
Without it, Bitcoin reached heady heights of almost $69,045 last year before the SEC approved the manipulative Bitcoin Futures ETF, which is arguably the reason why the price didn’t blow off top at the peak of the bull run.
With that in mind, it could be argued that Bitcoin does need regulatory approval. But from zero to almost $70k in 12 years isn’t bad going, and with it being open to anyone with Internet access, can’t retail drive the price of Bitcoin much higher?
Shorting Bitcoin is a risk, as the market never shuts, but can a collective of “small-time” investors overcome hedge funds’ determination to keep the price down? Only time will tell, but I do believe we will get regulatory approval as and when the SEC’s institutional insiders are ready.
