Shark Tank host Kevin O’Leary said that last year, bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX paid him $15 million to become its representative, but they completely burned out.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Kevin O’Leary revealed that the total deal was just under $15 million. The investor has invested about $9.7 million in the cryptocurrency. He also owns over $1 million worth of FTX stock, which is now worthless due to FTX’s bankruptcy filing. Another $4 million was “eaten up” by taxes and agency fees. O’Leary is lamenting that he lost that $15 million that just vanished.
When the host asked the investor why he failed to properly assess the risks involved in investing in and promoting FTX, O’Leary replied that he was a victim of groupthink. O’Leary has promoted FTX extensively on Twitter and online, demonstrating a close partnership with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been under several investigations.
When O’Leary first started promoting FTX, he stated that it was FTX’s regulatory compliance that drove him to invest in the marketplace.
“I lost this money, now this amount is at zero. It was a bad investment,” admitted O’Leary.
Despite claiming he lost millions of dollars in the FTX crash, O’Leary still considers Bankman-Fried one of the best crypto traders. In November, O’Leary said that if Bankman-Freed launched another project, he would definitely invest in it. This statement surprised many in the industry, who consider the founder of FTX to be a scammer and a scammer.
Last year, O’Leary said he would not invest in crypto assets unless they were controlled by regulators, so he called on the US government to develop regulatory rules for the cryptocurrency industry.
Source: Bits
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