Kevin O’Leary says crypto could still see fresh capitulation amid ‘a big panic’ event

Kevin O’Leary believes the crypto market could yet see pain, noting that the crypto winter could still push the market into a fresh round of selling before the bottom is in.

The Canadian entrepreneur and investor, aka Mr. Wonderful and a star of the reality TV show Shark Tank, says whatever that’s happened so far in the market – with most cryptocurrencies down by more than 70%, 80% – might not be all the bleeding that this bear market sees.

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It’s also not unique to crypto as other markets, be it equities, commodities or bonds have had to face big capitulation events over the years.

For most crypto companies, this is the first major bloodshed, and he thinks could still claim one “big guy” who will go to zero. If this happens, it could be the trigger that throws investors into a massive panic and a capitulation on the streets that could end with a bottom.

The investor made these comments in a recent interview with Meet Kevin.

A big panic event

On what happens next, O’Leary says the crypto market could be on its way to the bottom. He points to the crypto market cap being slashed from $3 trillion to under $1 trillion – Bitcoin’s is down to below $400 billion – as one of the indicators. However, he still fancies one more “big panic event.”

I like a big, big panic event. That’s always been a great way to bottom. It’s towel-throwing, it’s capitulation; it’s massive volume. It’s total panic in the streets and always a great buying opportunity.”

As for which companies or “big guy” he thinks could be following the likes of Voyager, Three Arrows Capital, BlockFi, and Vauld into that struggling or bankrupt club, O’Leary said he’s no idea.

But he opines that those to have been exposed so far are the “small” ones, those that make a tiny percentage of the total crypto market.

There’s no big guy who has gone to zero yet, and I think that’s still to come. Hard to say who it is because it’s going to be because of leverage and some kind of relationship in a counterparty holding that they have not disclosed.”

The billionaire says he might be “just speculating” on this, however, such a thing happening “would be very healthy for the market.”