Shark Tank host Kevin O'Leary has become an official spokesperson for Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX crypto exchange and will be paid in crypto and receive equity equally office of the deal.

Co-ordinate to a Tuesday announcement, the partnership with FTX Trading Ltd. and West Realm Shires Services Inc. (owners of FTX.US and FTX.com) will see O'Leary take an equity stake in both firms.

The venture backer, likewise known colloquially as "Mr. Wonderful," signed the multi-year bargain to serve as a brand ambassador and spokesperson. He asked to exist paid in crypto assets to increase his holdings.

In the announcement, O'Leary noted that "institutional investors struggle with the decision to invest in crypto assets," as they harbor compliance-related concerns as he did regarding crypto:

"I am no dissimilar. I want to increase my crypto exposure just also serve my compliance mandates. When it comes to rapidly changing compliance and taxation reporting requirements, the current cryptocurrency ecosystem is fraught with risks that I can non take."

He too added, "To observe crypto investment opportunities that met my own rigorous standards of compliance, I entered into this human relationship with FTX."

Regulatory compliance in crypto has been a long-standing outcome for the investor, and he previously stated back in 2022 that:

"I accept no interest in doing any of this crypto crap considering it is not compliant."

Related: Regulatory clarity for crypto would take three to v years, FTX CEO says

O'Leary has been tasked with elevating the make to large audiences and has already got to work on social media by promoting an FTX CryptoPunk nonfungible token giveaway on Twitter. Yet, he unfortunately misspelled a give-and-take in the caption of his mail service, which reads "what to win a CryptoPunk? Here's your chance!"

The venture backer has a knack for coming up with colorful nicknames for crypto, and in January, he referred to Bitcoin (BTC) as a "giant nothing-burger" due to its inconsistent regulatory frameworks across the earth. He has besides described BTC mined in non-environmentally friendly ways as "Claret Money."

He has inverse his tune on Bitcoin and revealed plans to allocate 3% of his investment portfolio to BTC in March. This calendar week, he chosen Ethereum "ultrasound coin" in a Cameo video.