“I Would Fire Coinbase CEO If He Worked For Me”: Kevin O’Leary

Shark Tank star and FTX shareholder Kevin O’Leary said that he would fire Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong if he worked for him amid the US SEC crackdown. O’Leary criticized Armstrong for “butting heads” with the US SEC.

Kevin O’Leary criticizes Coinbase CEO

Kevin O’Leary criticized Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong for taking on the SEC. The financial regulatory enforcement agency on Tuesday sued the US-based firm for acting as an exchange, a broker, and a clearing agency without registering with the regulator. Coinbase also offered and sold securities without registering its offers and sales, the SEC has alleged.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Kevin O’Leary said, Armstrong is a pioneer but if he worked for me, I’d fire him. I don’t want to go to war with SEC Chair Gary Gensler. O’Leary further added that if he were on the board or a shareholder of Coinbase, he would have withdrawn his money. Welcoming the SEC crackdown on Coinbase, he said he had no interest in putting money towards a service that was “at war” with the SEC.

The shark tank claims to have lost $15 million on now defunct crypto exchange FTX, whose founder is charged with multiple criminal and civil offenses.

“Crypto is also worthless as an asset”

Talking about the crypto industry in general, Kevin O’Leary said that it hasn’t gone anywhere for three years due to the absence of “institutional interest,” he explained. It is hard to find crypto being used anywhere because of the lacking interest, he added.

Crypto is also worthless as an asset, he added, describing it as fun to cheer on but a “nothingburger” until the industry resolves its issues. “While it’s been great to be part of this wonderful nascent community, and cheering on this idea of a rogue nation of crypto trading, it’s worthless right now,” the shark tank star said.