Kevin O’Leary turns away from NFTs and puts millions in rare, physical collectibles, specifically advanced sports cards.
The “Shark Tank” star and O’Leary Ventures chairman, recently gathered a double log card of $ 13 million with Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, he said during an interview with Coindesk TV’s Jennifer Sanasie. The card is one-on-one-stroke, and O’Leary-Ofte called “Mr. Wonderful”-it is a cornerstone of his growing “index” of unique collectibles.
“The majority of the return over 20 years is accrued to the collectors who bought the unique of the play,” O’Leary said, comparing the strategy with its many years of investments in Andy Warhol art and luxury watches. Instead of increasing others, O’Leary collaborated with two investors to acquire the card. “I’d rather own 33 and a third of it than zero,” he said.
Pouring millions into rare sports cards is not a passion project – it is a calculated effort. “It once traded $ 75,000 years ago, but it shows you the award assessment,” O’Leary said.
“Adult men will cry when they see this,” he added.
Tokenization over NFTs
Despite the overlap with tokenization, O’Leary made it clear that he has no interest in NFTs.
“NFTS turned out to be a fashion,” he said. “I only buy assets that are physical assets … that [NFT] Fad came and went. I am very lucky that I did not get involved in it because I never understood it. “
O’Leary’s sharp dismissal of NFTs comes just a few years after the market exploded in popularity. By 2021, trade volume in NFT market seats rose to $ 25 billion, up from just $ 95 million the year before, according to data from dppradar and chainalysis. Celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton and Steph Curry rushed to launch collections, while major brands, including Nike, Adidas and Coca-Cola, entered the square.
But the hype was short -lived. NFT sales quantities fell more than 80% in mid-2022 in the middle of the wider crypto-go, and the prices of high-profile collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and Cryptopunks fell from their tops, according to the data.
O’LEARY’s problem with NFTs is the lack of physical existence of the assets. “Where is the asset? Where can I put my white glove on and go to touch it? That’s what you can’t do with an NFT.”
However, he said his collectibles “one day will be tokenized,” because “it would be much easier to deal with and control them on an index that way.”
Wall Street on chain
O’LEARY frames this shift as part of a larger mission: “Wall Street on Chain.”
He believes that blockchain infrastructure can modernize how assets are controlled – which improves transparency, liquidity and confidence in markets that are still very dependent on intermediaries.
He remains bullish on basic cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, and infrastructure plays as mining and exchanges.
