“I want more regulation, and I want it now.”

Kevin O’Leary Ventures chair, O’Leary Ventures, said the crypto industry is not well regulated.

Speaking at Consensus 2025 in Toronto on Thursday, O’Leary said that Crypto Assets (AUM) under control had hit a wall.

“I didn’t think I would say this, but I wanted more regulation and I want it now,” O’Leary said. “The good news is that there’s a new sheriff in town. Paul Atkins’ (Securities and Exchange Commission).”

O’Leary said Atkins, who was sworn in as SEC chairman last month, has already telegraphed that he is friendly to the crypto industry and “regulate accordingly.”

Atkins replaced Gary Jensler, whose so-called “enforcement regulation” sparked the rage of many people in the crypto industry. O’Leary said Thursday that it respected Gensler’s consistency as a regulator.

“He said he was going to sue you, and he sued you,” O’Leary said. “He was consistent and you have to respect that.”

At a press conference ahead of his keynote, O’Leary said he received a Wells notification from the SEC more than a decade ago after talking about debt tokenization in a television interview. He said he was cleared, but the experience scared him temporarily, causing him to be involved with US code.

“My first experience with Crypto was when I was with Business Cable over a decade ago, I was talking about debt symbolization,” O’Leary said. “I knock on the door. It’s the SEC enforcement agent providing Wells’ notifications. I’m shitting on my pants… The regulator was sending me a message. I got the message.”

Since Gensler left its agency in January, the SEC has faced an approach to cryptographic regulation, with crypto-friendly commissioner Hester Peirce taking the lead in creating a cryptographic task force, dropping numerous open investigations and lawsuits against crypto companies launched under Gensler.

When it comes to Crypto Regulation, it’s not the only thing O’Leary wants.

“The moment it happens, it shows the next move to the law, the market infrastructure law,” Ollary said. “And when it is decided and regulated, Katie, we ban the door.