Canadian entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, the leading star of the business reality show Shark Tank, believes that the global tightening of crypto mining regulation will force companies to switch to renewable energy sources.
In an interview with First Mover, O’Leary said that nuclear and hydropower could take a more important place in the energy balance of the cryptocurrency mining industry in the future.
He also recalled that many new renewable energy plants were commissioned in the US last year, mainly in Texas, Oklahoma, upstate New York and the Pacific Northwest.
The savvy investor has suggested that the energy-hungry proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm used to mine bitcoin could help drive renewable energy adoption more widely.
According to him, Bitcoin “can attract investment, build data centers for all sectors of the economy.” The broadcaster believes that politicians, including Senator Elizabeth Warren (representing Massachusetts), who have previously criticized the mining industry, will not hinder the development of the PoW mining industry.
Especially after the miners realize that it is very profitable to work within the framework of the regulatory system. “The old ways of mining, the era of ignoring politicians, governments, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – is over,” O’Leary said.
US authorities are increasingly inclined to ban PoW mining. Recently, a group of congressmen petitioned the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the mining of cryptocurrencies that use an environmentally harmful consensus algorithm.