'It Is Not Yet 100% Legal' — Kevin O'Leary Explains Why Most Institutions Haven't Really Touched Bitcoin Yet

Crypto has a branding problem. Some coins want to be dollars, some attract speculators and a few swear they’ll rebuild how business runs. Treating them all as the same bet misses the point.

"Shark Tank" investor O’Leary sorted crypto into three buckets in a TikTok video posted Oct. 19, grading each on volatility, regulatory clarity and real-world adoption. Stablecoins landed on the firmest legal ground. Bitcoin landed in Washington’s waiting room.

Stablecoins are the Boring Hero

"Everybody knows crypto is volatile, but crypto is different things," O’Leary said in the video.

He parked stablecoins, which are built to hold a steady value, at the calm end of his risk scale.

"On the most least volatile of that metric, you would call stable coins the safest right now," O’Leary said. He pointed to the GENIUS Act and U.S. Treasury backing, calling stablecoins "digital money."

O’Leary also said he uses stablecoins as a payment system every day, a sign the technology has a job beyond speculative trading.

The GENIUS Act handed payment stablecoins a federal rulebook. That doesn’t make them bulletproof, though. Their reliability still depends on reserve backing, redemption terms and issuer compliance.

Bitcoin Is Stuck in Washington’s Waiting Room

Bitcoin sits higher on O’Leary’s risk ladder, an asset he described as one investors buy mainly to speculate.

"A little more risky and a lot more volatile is of course, Bitcoin," O’Leary said. "It is a risk asset so you’re buying it as a speculator."

Then he turned to the CLARITY Act, the bill meant to give digital asset markets a clear set of rules.

"It is not yet 100% legal because the CLARITY Act has not been passed," O’Leary said. "That’s law in Congress. We want that to happen. So most institutions haven’t really touched Bitcoin yet."

That bill has had a bumpy ride. The House passed it 294-134 in July 2025, and the Senate Banking Committee advanced it 15-9 in May. Then it hit the Senate floor. On Sept. 15, a procedural vote to start debate failed 49-50, far short of the 60 votes needed. 

Bitcoin is legal to own and trade in the U.S., and institutions already have exposure through investment products such as spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The open questions center on market oversight and structure, not Bitcoin’s basic legality.

Blockchain Has to Show Its Work

Blockchain tokens such as Ethereum fill O’Leary’s third bucket. He compared blockchain technology with enterprise software, arguing that real adoption matters more than big promises.

"Although we’ve been talking about it for twelve years, virtually no one’s using blockchain yet," O’Leary said. "But that could change."

That claim overlooks existing blockchain applications, including decentralized finance and stablecoin payments. Still, O’Leary’s larger point is that lasting value comes from real-world use, not buzz.

He closed with a simple portfolio takeaway.

"So end of the day, what’s the great investment strategy? Buy a little bit of everything," O’Leary said.

His message is that crypto isn’t one uniform bet. Stablecoins, Bitcoin and blockchain tokens do different jobs, carry different risks and face different hurdles. For Bitcoin, one of the biggest is still sitting in the Senate.

Photo via Shutterstock