Looks like there’s a new show in space. “Millionaires changing their mind about bitcoin” is the name of it. Great for the space and very funny in general.
First, we had Ray Dalio first saying that bitcoin was great and then saying it could be banned by the government. And now in a recent episode of the show Shark Tank, Kevin O’Leary, the prolific investor known as “Mr. Wonderful” weighed in.
Bitcoin And The Wonderful Rectification Game
Kevin O’Leary is known for his investor panel appearances on the shows Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den. Investors like him show how financially savvy they are when opportunities like bitcoin appear.
Yes, we know O’Leary was fervently opposed to bitcoin — even going so far as to call it ” garbage” in 2019. But it’s wise to own up to one’s own mistakes, right? Like with bitcoin’s emergence from being a “digital game” at 8K to becoming a prized investment at +55K.
The good news is that the crypto community can adopt anyone without taking a look at their record. And certainly, no one would deny the chance to someone whose net worth exceeds hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet, Mr. Wonderful has caveat or one condition:
He doesn’t want to buy blood-mined coins.
The Stained Side And The Clean Side Of The Coin
O’Leary was recently interviewed on CNBC’s Capital Connection. He said that he would buy bitcoin only if he knows the provenance of the coin. He also stated that if it is not something mined with renewable energy, he does not buy it.
He said in the interview that in the next few years there will be a divergence between two types of bitcoin. There will be “blood coins” mined in China and those mined with renewable energy such as hydroelectric power.
He added that he will go with the clean side of the coin. And he is willing to add 3% of his portfolio to bitcoin — which is no small thing either.
O’Leary has made no small comparison before. Like bitcoins mined with coal are similar to those of blood-stained diamonds. He also assured that he wanted nothing to do with bitcoins mined in a sanctioned country like China. Sadly, 65% of bitcoins are mined in this country.
Final Thoughts
Certainly, the issue of bitcoin energy consumption has been raising some eyebrows for quite a while now. When you add in all the energy usage of the network, bitcoin would be a top 50 country in terms of consumption. Bitcoin consumes more energy than Argentina — A country of almost 45 million people.
O’Leary raises an important issue, though — the network has to look to renewable sources if it’s going to continue to operate efficiently.
In the end, we should all be pleased that O’Leary has joined Mark Cuban as a new shark talking about crypto. With that the question looms as to whether Mr. Wonderful and Cuban will be the only sharks to join crypto?
Only time will tell.