Although he made his fortune trading penny stocks and manipulating the markets, Jordan Belfort, the trader who inspired the iconic movie “The Wolf of Wall Street,” is currently not very happy with a lot of what’s going on with the crypto industry.

In a recent interview he explained in detail what excites him and what bothers him about the crypto space.

The Good: Bitcoin and DeFi

Belfort confesses to being an optimistic Bitcoiner. He explained that since discovering Bitcoin, he has found it to be an exciting idea.

He hopes that soon there will be more and better regulations for Bitcoin and the crypto industry. From his point of view, the more regulations there are, the better the consequences for cryptocurrency users and traders in the future.

“The sooner that massive regulation comes into the market, the better it is for Bitcoin, stablecoin and everything else. I think people are scared of regulations, they shouldn’t be. If you look back in history … let’s say the junk bond market, everybody said, ‘Oh no, the regulators are coming in! [But ultimately] the market got much bigger, so I think it’s a good thing,”

Belford commented that Bitcoin has a “bright future” and that the industry has evolved favorably over time, now being much more mature. He believes BTC could become a serious substitue for gold, and he expects the crypto to end the year somewhere between $45,000 and $70,000.

Belfort is also very enthusiastic about DeFi, an industry he believes to be very innovative. He even advises a DeFi company today.

The Bad: Shitcoin ≠ Crypto

Belfort was concerned about the growing number of worthless cryptocurrencies being created to attract many unwary people who end up losing their money.

From his point of view, these scams are a harm to the crypto industry in general

There are so many scams, it is really sad … You have all these shitcoins out there. Literally, every single day, there are new ones being printed. They are simply designed to separate people from their money.

However, he assured that all crime leaves a trail and eventually the organizers of these scams will pay, even though they are currently walking free due to the legal loopholes.

He called for cleaning up the crypto markets, although he declined to specify which cryptocurrencies he considered to be scams.

The Ugly: Tether

For Belfort, the top stablecoin in the ecosystem at the moment is a stain on the crypto industry’s credibility. When asked if he considered Tether a scam, the seasoned trader stressed that he had several years warning about his suspicions regarding USDT.

I have been saying that since 2017 that I thought there was a big problem with Tether … It seemed like a pretty convenient thing that Tether supply expanded when it needed to expand. And then when they settled something civilly, I was like Wow, How did they get away with that?

He declined to call Tether a scam or a shitcoin. Still, He said that while Tether may currently operate cleanly, past mistakes could cost it dearly, even to the point of not being able to recover.

However, although this scenario could bring negative consequences for the crypto ecosystem, from his point of view, it would simply be a matter of time until the markets balance migrating to another stablecoin of proven legitimacy.