Kevin O’Leary: “I received $15 million from FTX, but it completely went bankrupt”

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Shark Tank host KevinO'Leary said that last year, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX paid him $15 million to become its representative, but they completely failed.

Speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box,Kevin O'Leary said that the total amount of the transaction was just under $15 million. The investor invested about $9.7 million in cryptocurrency. He also has over $1 million worth of FTX stock, which is now worthless due to FTX filing for bankruptcy. Another $4 million was “eaten up” by taxes and agency fees. O’Leary laments that he lost this $15 million, which simply reset to zero.  

When the program host asked the investor,why he failed to properly assess the risks associated with investing in and promoting FTX, O’Leary responded that he was a victim of groupthink. O’Leary has been actively promoting FTX on Twitter and online, demonstrating a close partnership with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who is already the subject of several investigations. 

When O'Leary first started promoting FTX, he stated that it was the FTX exchange's compliance with regulations that prompted him to invest in the trading platform.

“I lost this money, now this amount is zero. It was a bad investment,” O'Leary admitted.

Despite the statement that he had lostmillions of dollars as a result of the collapse of FTX, O'Leary still considers Bankman-Fried one of the best cryptocurrency traders. In November, O'Leary said that if Bankman-Fried launched another project, he would definitely invest in it. This statement surprised many industry participants who consider the FTX founder to be a fraudster and a swindler.

Last year, O’Leary said he didn'twill invest in crypto assets if they are not controlled by regulators, so he called on the US government to develop regulatory rules for the cryptocurrency industry.