In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary did not dismiss the possibility of more serious charges against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao. O’Leary, also known as “Mr. Wonderful,” stated that he felt sympathy for Zhao, who is currently facing allegations from the SEC regarding the mishandling of customer funds.
O’Leary acknowledged that the crypto market has been stuck due to the lack of new money coming into it, as well as constant litigation against exchanges. He suggested that regulators and lawmakers are tired of the rogue nature of the space and want to see greater transparency.
Regarding the SEC’s allegations against Binance, some of the claims include manufacturing trading volume, encouraging VIP customers to bypass Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements with VPNs, and transferring customer funds of around $20 billion to another entity called Merit Peak. As a result, the possibility of criminal charges remains uncertain.
Despite this uncertainty, O’Leary remains optimistic about the future of crypto, stating that the promise of modifying financial services is very intriguing and has great potential. He believes that once regulation is established and rogue operators are dealt with, the crypto industry can move forward and integrate with the world’s financial systems.
However, O’Leary is not as optimistic about the management team at Coinbase, stating that they seem to want to continue taking on the SEC, which may not be a successful strategy. He suggests that change may be necessary for Coinbase to better navigate the regulatory environment.
In the interview, O’Leary also mentioned investing in regulated exchanges around the world to provide stability for crypto investors. He believes that as the value of these regulated exchanges begins to rise, the crypto industry will enter a new phase of growth and stability.
Source: Cointelegraph
