Famous investor Kevin O’Leary says he will buy bitcoin extracted sustainably only in countries that use clean energy – and not “blood currency” extracted in China.
“I see in the next year or two, two types of coins,” he told CNBC’s Capital Connection on Monday. “Blood currency from China, (and) clean currency extracted sustainably in countries that use hydroelectricity, not coal.”
Bitcoin mining is extremely energy consuming and about 65% of the world’s bitcoin has been mined in China since April 2020, according to Statista.
“I’m going for the clean coin,” O’Leary said.
The president of O’Shares ETFs once called bitcoin “garbage”, but changed his mind more recently and said he would allocate 3% of his personal portfolio to cryptocurrency, according to a CoinDesk report.
O’Leary said he was “flooded” by institutions that asked him if he was buying “Chinese blood coins” after saying he wanted to invest in bitcoin.
I don’t buy coins unless I know where it was mined, when it was mined, where it came from. Not in China. No blood coin for me.
Kevin O’Leary
Chairman of O’Shares ETFs
More and more large institutions are imposing restrictions on the assets they will hold in order to comply with environmental and corporate governance rules. Concerns include human rights and carbon emissions. O’Leary said the products are made in China is also an important issue.
“All of these issues have now come to the forefront of bitcoin,” he said. “Institutions will not buy coins mined in China, coins mined using coal to burn electricity, coins mined in countries with sanctions on them.”
Institutions say they do not want to support China because of human rights issues, he added.
O’Leary personally said he works hard to make sure every coin he owns is a complaint.
“I don’t buy coins unless I know where it was mined, when it was mined, where it came from,” he said. “Not in China. No blood coin for me.”