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 told CoinDesk.

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. The Fed is expected to raise rates further on Wednesday, with Wall Street seeing 50 to 75 basis points.