Kevin O’Leary, a celebrity investor known as “Mr. Wonderful” on ABC TV series “Shark Tank,” has explained he sees the price of the flagship cryptocurrency bitcoin ($BTC) hitting $300,000 once regulators in the U.S. “rule on cryptocurrencies.”

During an interview with Stansberry Research, O’Leary first mentioned inflation in the U.S. hit its highest level in 40 years in January after prices rose 7.5% from 2021, and suggest that people who keep their savings in cash are effectively being taxed through it. Regulators, however, need to be careful about hiking rates as they may push the economy toward a recession, he said.

Addressing bitcoin, O’Leary said that the flagship cryptocurrency could see its price skyrocket once institutional investors are allowed to move into the market. Per his words, at some point “in the next two to three years,” regulators in the U.S. are “going to rule on cryptocurrencies” with the first cryptoassets being regulated being stablecoins and BTC.

O’Leary added that as soon as that happens sovereign wealth funds and other institutions will “going to allocate to it probably one to three percent” which would generate so much demand Bitcoin could be going as high as $300,000. He said:

You want to talk about Bitcoin going to $100,000, $200,000 $300,000, it’s going to be when institutions can finally buy it.

During the interview, the celebrity investor noted institutions need regulatory compliance to meet Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards before they can invest in the flagship cryptocurrency. ESG standards, it’s worth noting, are a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use.

O’Leary said that because he services sovereign wealth funds and pensions plans that despite the hype surrounding cryptocurrencies like BTC, most institutions don’t own a single coin, nor will they until “their compliance departments allow for the ESG mandates to be ‘check the box on that’ and of course be compliant on the asset class itself.”

When institutions do move in, he reiterated, the “price of the coin is going to appreciate dramatically.” As CryptoGlobe reported, late last year O’Leary revealed he holds more crypto than gold, and has an interest in Solana and Polygon.

Several companies, including MicroStrategy, Tesla, Block, Marathon Digital Holdings, and KPMG Canada have added the flagship cryptocurrency to their balance sheets, while a few investment fund have added BTC exposure through Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

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The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.

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