Kevin O’Leary on why he consults before investing in crypto

• Kevin O’Leary says consulting regulators is critical as it helps avoid litigation
• He recently said his portfolio holds nearly 10% in crypto 
• The “Shark Tank” investor is looking to invest up to 5% of his liquid cash in USDC and is also looking at various crypto assets, including Polygon, HBAR and Solana

“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary says he eyes investments in several digital currencies, but he goes about his business in a manner not to run afoul of regulators.

O’Leary, who recently revealed that his crypto investments had grown to about 10% of his portfolio, told CNBC that consultation with regulatory bodies helped him sieve out what’s not possible as set forth by market authorities.

He told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” that his approach to investing in cryptocurrency is down to not wanting to end up as a “crypto cowboy.”

“I have no interest in being a crypto cowboy and getting anybody unhappy,” he said, adding that getting into regulatory crosshairs would only hurt his investments.

According to him, he needs to be compliant when investing in digital currencies as he continues to do with his many real world assets. He believes that investing in a crypto asset only to end up in litigation with regulators is a “very bad idea.”

He added that he is choosing compliance rather play guessing games only to end up in a regulatory conundrum.

USDC, Polygon and Solana

O’Leary also talked about his investment in stablecoins, revealing that he might put up to 5% of his money into USD Coin (USDC). The USD-pegged asset is only second to Tether (USDT) in terms of market capitalisation and has seen increased investment as the latter grapples with regulatory issues around its issuance.

Although he invests in crypto, O’Leary said his outlook of the investment class is different from likely to be held by others.

According to him, he chooses a project to invest in based on an attempt to pick out that which has the biggest potential to be a winner “long term.”

This, he said, has led him to look at various blockchain projects, including Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC) and Hedera (HBAR). He revealed that he is looking to invest in all of the interesting projects as it’s difficult to tell which one would go on to become a market leader.