In an interview published on July 3, the famous Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary said that cryptocurrencies pose serious compliance challenges to the financial services industry.
O’Leary blamed the volatile nature of Cryptocurrencies to be the major reason for not backing the technology. He said:
“If I want to be compliant and I don’t wanna breach any regulators because I’m a participant in financial services globally, and that is where the majority of money is, […] I have to be compliant, I have no interest in doing any of this crypto crap because it is not compliant.”
He went on to say that since one cannot pay taxes with cryptocurrencies, they are nothing but a “rogue currency.”
However, O’Leary claimed that a “regulated” crypto asset backed by a more stable and reliable fiat currency like USD or Yen or Euro to be a more credible direction for digital currencies. The advantages being the usage of the currency for government-aided activities like taxes and other financial activities like to pay a debt or to buy equity for example. The additional benefits are that “regulated” crypto can easily be converted back to fiat currencies unlike the current version of Cryptocurrencies.
The Never Ending Debate
O’Leary also took a shot at the involvement of Cryptocurrencies in drugs and other illegal activities.
“All of this non-compliant stuff… I don’t want to get involved with a drug dealer trading bitcoins somewhere. I want nothing to do with that.”
Jeremy Allaire, co-founder, and CEO of Circle came in defense of the Crypto Industry by pointing out that intermediaries that stand between the cryptocurrencies and the banking system are well regulated.
“The crypto industry has been regulated in the U.S. since 2013. If you want to sit between the banking system and cryptocurrency, you have to be licensed as a financial institution.”
Kevin, who is also known for his work on Television had lashed out against bitcoin (BTC) and called it a useless currency since people accepting it is cashing in on its volatility.
This is a running debate amongst people inside and outside the Crypto Industry. We currently have regulators in the United States working to better define digital assets to ensure the industry’s development. In April, Token Taxonomy Act was reintroduced by Members of the House of Representatives with a goal to bring clear guidelines for blockchain and crypto businesses and the industry in general.
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