Investor and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary is accelerating his push into crypto and artificial intelligence infrastructure, arguing that long term value will come from land, power, and data centers rather than speculative digital tokens. O’Leary said he now controls approximately 26,000 acres of land across multiple regions, including 13,000 acres in Alberta and another 13,000 acres in locations currently undergoing permitting. The sites are being prepared as utility ready locations designed to support bitcoin mining in the near term and large scale data centers for AI, cloud services, and government use over time. Rather than building facilities himself, O’Leary plans to lease fully permitted land and power access to operators once approvals are secured. He described the current rush into data centers as a land and energy race, warning that many announced projects lack the foundational infrastructure needed to move from concept to construction.
O’Leary compared bitcoin mining and data center development to real estate investing, where control over land and utilities determines long term viability. He said power contracts, particularly those offering low cost electricity, are more valuable than the digital assets they support. According to his assessment, roughly half of the data centers announced in recent years will never be built due to permitting delays, insufficient power access, or unrealistic planning. His acquired sites are being developed with full infrastructure considerations, including electricity, water, fiber connectivity, and air rights, positioning them for energy intensive operations. O’Leary believes this approach addresses a key bottleneck facing both crypto and AI expansion, as demand for computing power continues to grow faster than available infrastructure. The strategy reflects a broader shift among investors toward owning the physical backbone of digital economies rather than chasing short term token performance.
Despite his skepticism toward much of the crypto market, O’Leary said nearly 19 percent of his portfolio is tied to crypto related assets, infrastructure, and land. He maintains that institutional capital is primarily focused on bitcoin and ether, arguing that most smaller tokens will not recover from past market declines. In his view, meaningful institutional adoption depends on regulatory clarity, particularly rules that allow yield on stablecoin accounts. He criticized proposed restrictions that would prevent such yields, saying they create an uneven playing field favoring traditional banks. O’Leary remains optimistic that US lawmakers will revise pending legislation, unlocking broader participation from large financial institutions. If that happens, he believes capital will flow first into core digital assets and the infrastructure required to support them.
