Shark Tank’s Kevin O’ Leary says Bitcoin will go mainstream under one condition

Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary said that Bitcoin's mainstream institutional adoption hinges entirely on one thing, i.e., the passage of a comprehensive crypto infrastructure bill.

In an X post on May 21, O'Leary, known as Mr. Wonderful, said Bitcoin "is still a fringe asset to the big guys" and that institutional index funds will not touch it until it becomes globally compliant through formal legislation.

"It has to become compliant globally within the SEC with an actual passage of a bill," O'Leary wrote. "When that occurs, it's gonna change everything."

Related: The window for crypto legislation may be now or 2029

Stablecoins are proof of concept

A big-time proponent of tokenization and Bitcoin, O'Leary pointed to the GENIUS Act, which passed in 2025, as the clearest evidence of what regulatory clarity can do for their adoption.

Once the GENIUS Act was passed, stablecoins were adopted globally "almost immediately," he noted.

"Look what happened to stablecoins. Almost immediately they got adopted globally. Almost immediately. That's what happens when the bill passes."

O'Leary framed the current legislative window as narrow and urgent, warning that the approaching November midterms create real political risk for the bill.

However, debates around whether stablecoins should pay yield or rewards, a sticking point left unresolved by the GENIUS Act, are complicating progress.

"The chance to pass this bill is now," he wrote.

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What's going on with CLARITY Act?

The Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the Clarity Act on May 14 in a 15-9 bipartisan vote.

However, a merged Senate bill, an ethics provision, and 60 floor votes are still required before it reaches the president.

Galaxy Research has put the odds of the Clarity Act being signed into law in 2026 at roughly 75%.

"More work needs to be done, but the bipartisan advancement through committee was a major milestone that raises the odds of final passage," Thorn said.

Back on May 6, White House digital assets adviser Patrick Witt said that the U.S. government has been targeting July 4 for the House passage of the Clarity Act, with the Senate Banking Committee markup planned for May and four working Senate weeks in June for floor passage.

Related: Markets surge as Clarity Act clears Senate committee in landmark 15-9 vote

This story was originally published by TheStreet on May 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.