Kevin O’Leary Says the U.S. Must Learn From Bitcoin Miners to Stay Ahead in Global AI Race

In the emerging arms race of artificial intelligence, serial entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary believes the U.S. must take cues from Bitcoin miners.

Speaking at Consensus 2025 and in a subsequent interview, O’Leary argued that Bitcoin mining operations—designed for mega-wattage, industrial-scale energy use—offer a blueprint for powering the AI revolution.

“It all comes down to power,” O’Leary said. “Whether it’s AI data centers or Bitcoin mining, they need the same thing—energy infrastructure. And often, now, these projects are one and the same.”

With AI’s exponential growth driving unprecedented electricity demands, Washington policymakers and institutional investors are taking a closer look at the overlap between Bitcoin mining and AI data centers. Many Bitcoin miners, already operating in regions with stranded or cheap energy, are now retrofitting facilities to accommodate AI workloads using GPU-based computation.

O’Leary pointed to states like Texas, West Virginia, and North Dakota, and provinces like Alberta, Canada, as emerging hubs. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith recently highlighted the region’s 200 trillion cubic feet of stranded natural gas, drawing attention from AI and mining firms alike.

This convergence is not just opportunistic. For miners, diversification is survival. Following the 2024 halving event that slashed Bitcoin block rewards, mining profitability has been squeezed. Companies like Core Scientific, Hive Digital, and Hut 8 have since pivoted toward AI hosting to sustain margins and expand business models.

But infrastructure remains a choke point. O’Leary said grid capacity is tapped out in most U.S. states:

“If you want a gigawatt, forget about it. You need to build it yourself—nuclear, gas, whatever it takes.”

He also criticized protectionist energy tariffs between the U.S. and Canada as “foolish,” warning that while North America debates trade policy, China is building coal-fired plants weekly to prepare for the ‘AI wars.’

“This isn’t just about Bitcoin mining anymore,” O’Leary said. “It’s about national competitiveness. And if we don’t solve the power problem, we’re already behind.”

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Editorial Note: This news article has been written with assistance from AI. Edited & fact-checked by the Editorial Team.

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