O'Leary details why the US needs a crypto czar: 'We've got to stop these shenanigans'
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 Thursday on "Fox & Friends."
"It provides efficiency and digital payment systems. And we have to be competitive worldwide."
According to industry sources familiar with the discussions, President-elect 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.
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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 Gary] 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, Tennessee, just weeks before Election Day.
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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.
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.
FOX Business’ Suzanne O’Halloran contributed to this report.