Kevin O'Leary says the crypto market won't hit bottom until there's panic: 'we need someone to go to zero'

• Kevin O'Leary said the cryptocurrency market won't hit a bottom until there is a panic event.
• "In the crypto world, we need someone to go to zero," he told CoinDesk.

Kevin O'Leary said the cryptocurrency market, which has already seen its value crumble below $1 trillion from a high of $3 trillion, won't hit a bottom until there is panic.

"In the crypto world, we need someone to go to zero," he $4.

Such "panic events define bottoms" that signal market capitulation, clearing the way for a recovery to begin, the "Shark Tank" star added.

He also pointed out that the USDC stablecoin has weathered crypto's recent wild ride, helped by the cash and short-term Treasury assets behind it.

"The market is really receptive to something stable as a payment system," he said.

O'Leary's comments come as bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has lost 29% over the past week, according to data from CoinMarketCap. On Wednesday, bitcoin tested the $20,000 price level, falling from a high of $69,000 reached last fall.

The crypto rout has extended to other popular crypto heavyweights, with Ethereum slipping 38% over the past seven days while Solana slid 26% over the same time period.

And the market sell-off isn't showing signs of abating, as Wall Street investors continue to continue with persistently high inflation that has yet to slow despite the Federal Reserve's rate hikes. $4, with Wall Street seeing 50 to 75 basis points.