Famed Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary, whose portfolio is 20% dedicated to the blockchain sector, believes the cryptocurrency space will eventually become the 12th sector of S&P 500 index, he said at the this year’s DC Blockchain Summit on Tuesday.
Mr. Wonderful pointed to cryptos’ “productivity” in terms of faster transactions and less fees compared with traditional wire transfers.
In addition, O’Leary said environmental concerns are causing “chaos” for the mining space, citing a series of cases where regulators are pushing for the implementation of more eco-friendly solutions. Proof-of-Work blockchain-based Bitcoin (BTC-USD) eats up more electricity in a year than Sweden, Norway, or the United Arab Emirates, according to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.
The miners “won’t be coming back until we resolve this ESG issue,” O’Leary emphasized. “New York is a highlight of that. They’re considering cancelling Proof-of-Work – that would be a bad outcome for New York – that’s not a good idea, but its frozen capital.”
“New York, Tennessee Valley, Montana and North Dakota are ideal locations where you can put mining facilities under full mandate of hydroelectricity, where you wouldn’t need a carbon audit.” This is a huge opportunity for the miners, he added.
Crypto miners focused on green crypto production include: Soluna (SLNH), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Argo Blockchain (ARBK), Galaxy Digital (OTCPK:BRPHF), Sphere 3D (ANY), Bitfarms (BITF), Iris Energy (IREN) and Powerbridge Technologies (PBTS).
Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD -2.4%), the granddaddy asset as O’Leary alludes to, is dipping to $29.1K in afternoon trading, while ethereum (ETH-USD -4.3%), the second largest digital coin, is down to $1.94K.
In January, Kevin O’Leary said he thinks NFTs could outshine bitcoin.