Kevin O’Leary says sovereign wealth funds want Bitcoin Kevin O’Leary says sovereign wealth funds want Bitcoin
Kevin O'Leary said several sovereign wealth funds "want Bitcoin," but regulatory uncertainty is holding things back.
2 min read
Updated: Aug. 17, 2022 at 7:14 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
A recent YouTube post from Anthony Pompliano showed snippets of Kevin O’Leary talking about Bitcoin interest from sovereign wealth funds (SWF).
SWF refers to state-owned investment funds, usually funded by a country’s trading surplus. As such, total assets managed by SWF tend to be substantial.
“The acceptable investments included in each SWF vary from fund to fund and country to country. Countries can create or dissolve SWFs to match the needs of their population.”
According to swfinstitute.org, the top three SWFs are Norway Government Pension Fund Global, China Investment Corporation, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, with total assets of $1.338 trillion, $1.222 trillion, and $708.8 billion, respectively.
Sovereign wealth funds want Bitcoin
O’Leary mentioned he is in close contact with several SWFs, naming Norway, the UAE, and Saudi as examples – before adding, “They want Bitcoin.”
Commenting on the demand for alternative cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, he said, “the gas fees are a joke; that’s the problem.” However, he said that if Ethereum “becomes the default platform for other digital assets,” SWF demand may rise.
Nonetheless, O’Leary disclosed that, in discussions with SWFs, he discovered that Bitcoin is the overwhelmingly favored digital asset by SWFs. And that proposed allocations range from 0.5% to 3% of the total asset fund.
“When you ask them, ‘if you could buy a digital asset, which one would it be and what allocation?’ It’s about fifty basis points on the low end, up to three hundred basis points from the high end. And ninety-nine percent of the time, they say Bitcoin.”
What is stopping SWFs from buying?
The Canadian entrepreneur explained that the lack of regulatory clarity is holding SWFs back from buying Bitcoin. He added that if U.S. policymakers rolled out a legal framework today, the price of BTC would hit $60,000 before September.
“Right now, if we had policy on Bitcoin, I swear to you the price would be sixty thousand dollars in two weeks.”
Chiming in, Pompliano expressed confidence in policymakers getting their act together, saying “the regulatory stuff will sort itself out.”
Moreover, referring to the growing trend of treating Bitcoin as a commodity rather than a security, Pompliano is further assured that the SWF money is on its way.
“But Bitcoin continues to be the one asset that every regulator around the world agrees on. Bitcoin is not a security…”
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Samuel Wan
Samuel Wan, a finance professional turned full-time crypto content creator, values individual autonomy and personal freedom in his pursuits.
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Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Terence Thomas Kevin O’Leary, nicknamed “Mr Wonderful”, is a Canadian businessman, entrepreneur, investor, author, political candidate, and television presenter.
Recognized widely as “Pomp”, Anthony Pompliano (born June 15, 1988) stands out as an influential American entrepreneur, Bitcoin advocate, investor, and a proud U.S.