The pursuit of AI dominance has led North America to glean valuable insights from the bitcoin mining industry, particularly in constructing large-scale infrastructure near sustainable energy sources, according to Kevin O'Leary, a seasoned entrepreneur. "It boils down to power," O'Leary stated in an interview, drawing parallels between AI data centers and bitcoin mining. "We're observing that these projects often overlap." A coincidental alignment between bitcoin mining operations and AI data center requirements has garnered attention from Washington, D.C. policymakers and institutional investors.
For instance, New York state, which initially struggled to advance due to inadequate policy despite its abundant hydro power, is now attempting to reclaim its position in the bitcoin mining and AI landscape, O'Leary noted. "Some states, like New York, have come to realize that these are high-paying jobs at the forefront of two newly regulated industries: AI and bitcoin mining and crypto. They feel they've missed out on opportunities," he said. Currently, more desirable locations for such endeavors include West Virginia, North Dakota, Mississippi, and Texas, according to O'Leary, who is a backer of Bitzero, a company specializing in green energy bitcoin mining and data centers in North America, Norway, and Finland.
"Alberta, Canada, is a prime example, given its abundance of low-cost, stranded natural gas," he added. The recent halving of bitcoin mining rewards has forced miners to diversify into AI and cloud computing, leading companies like Core Scientific to bring the intersection of mining and AI into the mainstream. Other miners, such as Hive Digital and Hut 8, have shifted significant portions of their data centers to AI to diversify revenue.
The marriage of bitcoin mining and AI computing in data centers has become an attractive means of diversification, as miners are already tapping into the substantial electricity required to support the growing data center demands of AI. Mega-wattage bitcoin mining operations are typically situated near abundant energy supplies with existing industrial-scale power generation connectivity infrastructure, making retrofitting bitcoin mines with AI-powering graphics processing units a potentially attractive proposition. O'Leary expressed optimism when discussing the powering of the AI boom with policymakers, citing U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
He emphasized that a tariff war between the U.S. and Canada is "foolish," given China's preparations for the "AI wars" by establishing new coal-burning electrical plants weekly.
"This isn't just about bitcoin mining; it's about national competitiveness," O'Leary said. "We need to bring this back home, but our biggest challenge is power. There's no more power on the domestic grid, and if you want a gigawatt in any state, you'll have to figure out a way to build that power yourself from natural gas, nuclear power, or another source."