How to Understand Kevin O'Leary's Strategy in Crypto: Why the Foundation, Not the Token, Is the Future

With a deep understanding of the cryptocurrency market, the famous investor from Shark Tank, Kevin O’Leary, is focusing on a new direction: not buying digital assets, but acquiring the land and electricity needed to make them operational. His perspective has shifted the industry’s understanding of where big money is truly focused.

The New Understanding of Crypto Infrastructure

O’Leary recognizes that the real value of this business is centered on infrastructure, not tokens. He already controls 26,000 acres of land in various locations—13,000 acres in Alberta, Canada, publicly disclosed, and another 13,000 in other areas currently in talks for permits. Our industry understanding should focus on how these businesses actually operate: they need large areas and cheap, reliable electricity.

In fact, this business is similar to real estate development. Just as developers seek the perfect land for skyscrapers, Bitcoin mining companies and AI infrastructure providers do the same. O’Leary’s solution is not to build data centers himself—instead, he will acquire land and electricity, then lease it to companies ready to operate. “My job is not to build data centers,” he says. “My job is to prepare fields with full permits and utilities—electricity, water, fiber, and everything needed.”

This understanding led him to a conclusion: most of the data centers announced in the past three years will never be built. He claims this is an “immediate land abuse without real knowledge.” The companies acquiring land that he plans are designed for energy-intensive operations, from Bitcoin mining to government and hyperscaler data centers in the long term.

The most critical element: electricity contracts in these areas are more important than Bitcoin itself. Prices below six cents per kilowatt-hour provide a competitive advantage that cannot be matched by any token price movement.

The Right Understanding of the Crypto Market: Only Bitcoin and Ethereum

O’Leary’s understanding of the market has become more selective and critical. He believes that institutional capital—the real money controlling markets—only comprises two assets: Bitcoin and Ethereum. All other tokens are no longer understood by serious investors.

The data speaks for itself. According to a study by Charles Schwab, nearly 80% of the $3.2 trillion crypto market is focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Even clearer: these two assets have accounted for 97.2% of the total market movement since the industry’s inception. This understanding shows how far the retail world is from the reality of institutional capital.

“All other coins have risen 60 to 90% and are no longer coming back,” O’Leary says about the performance of minor altcoins. His understanding is crystal clear: large funds are not interested in diversifying across 10,000 different projects. Even the latest exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have brought some money in from retail investors, but their value is small in the realm of institutional allocation.

Regulatory Understanding That Will Change Everything

The most critical element for future crypto adoption is regulatory understanding. O’Leary is closely watching a long-term bill regarding the market structure of crypto being studied in the US Senate. But his understanding is not entirely positive—there is a clause he sees as the real problem.

The current draft bans yield on stablecoin accounts, a change that unfairly favors traditional banks. Coinbase itself has supported this bill because of this provision. “It’s an unfair blow,” O’Leary says. “Until we allow stablecoin users to earn yields, market understanding will remain limited to Bitcoin only.”

His more pragmatic view is that Coinbase earns $355 million in revenue from stablecoin yield products just in Q3 2025 alone. Circle and other stablecoin issuers want to continue this revenue stream. True understanding of the future depends on how this regulatory tension is resolved.

The bigger picture: if regulation allows stablecoin yield accounts, institutional understanding of crypto will change entirely. O’Leary is optimistic this will happen, and when it does, he believes it will open the doors for broad institutional allocation to Bitcoin. The 19% of his portfolio dedicated to crypto-related assets and infrastructure reflects his understanding that this is the direction of the future.