Kevin O’Leary on Clean Bitcoin Mining, the Elon Musk-Twitter Conundrum

Bitcoin miners use an estimated 2,260 kilowatt-hours to mine every bitcoin, according to database company Statista.

O’Leary said nuclear and hydro power will likely loom larger in the crypto-mining energy mix. Many new power plants have come on line in the U.S. this past year, largely in Texas, Oklahoma, upstate New York and the Pacific Northwest, drawing on renewable and non-renewable energy sources.

Like other crypto-minded businessmen, O’Leary suggested that the energy-intensive proof-of-work algorithm used to mine bitcoin could drive wider adoption of green energy. Bitcoin, he said, “could bring capital to work there, build data centers for all sectors of the economy.”

Although politicians including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have been critical of the mining industry, O’Leary doesn’t think they will stymie development, especially once crypto miners realize it could be more profitable working within the regulatory system.

“The old ways of mining, ignoring politicians, policymakers, government, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) are over,” he said.

“Twitter has done an abysmal job of creating value for shareholders since it went public just over nine years ago, creating zero value year after year,” O’Leary said.

He also criticized the microblogging site’s decision to influence conversations.”Silencing one voice and not another was a bad strategy” and “undermines the basis of democracy,” he said.

The social media platform needs “adult supervision,” and the biggest risk the company now faces “is that Elon Musk goes away.“

O’Leary said the social media behemoth is the “definition of hell on Earth,” though he didn’t say if a feature like “dogecoin tipping” would make it any better.