Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Leary Ventures and a longtime investor, said he has narrowed his crypto holdings to just two digital tokens, arguing that most smaller tokens have failed to prove they belong in long-term portfolios as institutional investors reshape the market.
Speaking in an interview on Fox Business’ Varney & Co., O’Leary said he had moved away from a broader strategy that once included dozens of smaller crypto positions, adding that deeper institutional scrutiny and a changing regulatory environment led him to conclude that most alternative coins lacked durability.
I used to be one of the components… Supporting 27 different positions… All you need to own is bitcoin and Ethereum, and you own 97% of the volatility of all the other pooh-pooh coins,” O’Leary said.
Retreat From Smaller Tokens
O’Leary said the selloff in smaller cryptocurrencies last October reinforced his decision to consolidate around the two largest tokens, arguing that thousands of smaller coins effectively disappeared in the downturn and never recovered.
What’s happened to the pooh-poohs is they collapsed last October… Thousands of them never came back… At the end, why don’t you just own those two?” he said.
Payments, Stablecoins Support His Confidence in Crypto
Despite the volatility that continues to define digital assets, O’Leary said he remains constructive on the broader crypto space because of rising use of digital payment systems and stablecoins in cross-border transactions, pointing to those trends as a key reason he still sees value in the asset class, even as he narrows the list of tokens he is willing to own.
From Crypto Skeptic to Concentrated Bet
O’Leary’s crypto stance has shifted sharply over time. In 2019, he dismissed bitcoin as “garbage” and a “useless currency,” citing volatility and practical limits. By 2021, however, he had reversed course, saying changing market conditions and the arrival of more regulated investment vehicles had led him to change his view.
By 2022, O’Leary had expanded his crypto exposure far beyond bitcoin, saying the asset class made up about 20% of his operating portfolio and that he held 32 positions across the sector, viewing many tokens as software and infrastructure plays rather than simple currencies, while also arguing that stablecoins were among the market’s most important assets because of their role in payments.
The collapse of FTX, where he had been a paid spokesperson and investor, did not push him out of crypto, but it strengthened his call for tighter regulation and deeper scrutiny of the sector.
O’Leary’s latest comments mark a sharp break from his earlier crypto strategy, with the investor now saying bitcoin and ether are the only tokens worth owning after years of backing a much broader mix of digital assets.
