Kevin O'Leary is optimistic about crypto mining and AI infrastructure: energy supply agreements are more valuable than Bitcoin

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Kevin O’Leary, from Shark Tank, sees Bitcoin mining and AI as the new real estate market Original Link: Investor and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary is one of the investors in the popular show “Shark Tank.” He bets on the true long-term value of the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence markets, which lies not only in the tokens themselves but also in the infrastructure supporting these technologies.

O’Leary revealed in an interview that he currently controls approximately 26,000 acres of land distributed across different regions, used to support projects related to Bitcoin mining, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and large-scale data centers.

According to the investor, half of these areas are located in Alberta, Canada, with the remaining 13,000 acres in undisclosed locations, currently in the permitting stage. O’Leary stated that about 19% of his portfolio is already exposed to the crypto industry, including not only digital assets but also infrastructure, energy, and land.

The entrepreneur has invested in Norway’s Bitcoin miner BitZero and often compares cryptocurrency mining to real estate business. In his view, miners and AI companies first need to acquire large tracts of land and competitive energy contracts.

O’Leary said he has no intention of directly building data centers but is prepared to own land with permits and complete infrastructure—including energy, water, fiber optics, and usage rights—and then lease it to companies for installation.

“My job isn’t necessarily to build data centers,” he said. “It’s to prepare everything so the project is ready to start.” O’Leary further stated that he believes about half of the data centers announced in the past three years will never be built, mainly due to a lack of proper planning regarding land, energy, and permits. In his view, there is a speculative bidding race without a true understanding of the costs and complexities involved.

O’Leary claims that some energy contracts—especially those costing less than 6 cents per kilowatt-hour—are more valuable than Bitcoin itself. According to him, this difference makes infrastructure more strategic than tokens in the long run.

Skepticism Toward Cryptocurrency

Although he continues to be exposed to the industry, O’Leary says he is increasingly skeptical of most of the crypto market. In his opinion, institutional capital is only interested in two assets: Bitcoin and Ethereum.

He downplays the impact of newly launched crypto ETFs on large investors, bluntly stating that smaller coins are unlikely to recover from the significant declines accumulated over the past few years. Recent data confirms this view: nearly 80% of the total crypto market value is concentrated in foundational blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

For O’Leary, the decisive factor for broader institutional adoption is not technological innovation but regulation. He is closely watching the crypto market framework bill discussed in the U.S. Senate and believes this will be a turning point for larger investors to enter more aggressively. Nonetheless, he criticizes certain provisions of the current draft, such as banning yield payments on stablecoins, which he believes creates an unfair advantage for traditional banks.

The investor points out that such restrictions are one of the reasons some compliant platforms withdraw support for the project. “This is not an equal competitive environment,” he said. For O’Leary, allowing stablecoins to offer yields is crucial to unlocking the economic potential of the industry. He still believes the draft will be adjusted, and when that happens, he expects the market to see significant institutional allocations to Bitcoin.