Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary plans to open his own mining operations this year

The chairman of O’Shares and Beanstox, Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, best known as a panelist on the reality series Shark Tank, revealed his interest in opening his own Bitcoin mining operations in a recent interview with Anthony Pompliano on The Best Business Show. 

Shark Tank TV star and renowned businessman told CryptoSlate in an exclusive interview last October what led him to take equity exposure to the blockchain infrastructure.

Exposure to Bitcoin through equity

As Mr. Wonderful pointed out, the largest pension and sovereign funds in the world are in the Middle East. 

“I was interested to see if there’s a way to invest together,” he said, revealing Middle Eastern investors are “contemplating sovereign mining operations.”

According to O’Leary’s prediction for institutional adoption in the next two to three years, sovereign funds will get increasingly involved in Bitcoin mining. 

However, due to environment-related controversies, doing it sustainably and ethically will be crucial, he noted.

Mr. Wonderful revealed that he always wanted to open up his own Bitcoin mining operations, saying that he will probably do it in 2022. 

He explained that mining companies should be able to track their Bitcoin rewards in company balance sheets–enabling investors to acquire company stocks and get direct exposure to Bitcoin through equity. 

“I tell you guys, that’s what’s gonna happen this year–you’ll see a tone of capital going to these new projects,” O’Leary pointed out, adding that some enterprises will make the use of the old Chinese stacks, set up in new jurisdictions.

Underground mining facilities

According to O’Leary, nuclear power in the Middle East region is leveraging the excess of electricity available for Bitcoin mining, however, cooling remains the issue.

O’Leary noted that a couple of ventures are exploring the possibility to build big billion-dollar mining facilities deep underground, as the cooling of massive stacks underneath the deep sand could prove very efficient.

It’s still early for the Middle East, he concluded, noting that cooling systems that work are still being explored. 

Most sovereign countries are interested in mining Bitcoin on their own land, argued O’Leary, who has been very open about increasing his exposure to crypto, strategically investing in a wide range of different crypto products.

“I’m not just looking for investments in coins or tokens, though those investments can be valuable. I want to own the baseline infrastructure of crypto, which is blockchain, and while owning blockchain isn’t necessarily more important than owning crypto, it allows for a more holistic view,” O’Leary told CryptoSlate.