North Dakota: Bitzero & investor Kevin O’Leary make big company announcements

Bitcoin mining company Bitzero, reportedly a "100% green company," recently made a number of announcements related to its expansion and headquarters location. Plans to build 200 megawatts of data centers in North Dakota over the next two to three years were announced, and the state was also chosen as the company's new headquarters. 

Speaking about the decision to choose North Dakota, in a statement, the company said: "North Dakota emerged as the logical choice for Bitzero due to alignment on the state's goal of being carbon neutral by 2030, its robust energy industry, favorable tax and regulatory environment, and access to top-tier engineering and software talent for the commercialization of new intellectual property in the data center space."

Entrepreneur and "Shark Tank" business mogul Kevin O'Leary is also a strategic investor in the bitcoin company, and at a technology summit in Bozeman, he announced that his investment firm is working with the bitcoin mining company, alongside the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to build a data center in Polson, Montana. While plans are still underway, the proposed facility would have 50MW of capacity. Commenting on the reason for targeting Montana, O'Leary said that the state has a friendly regulatory environment: "Funds flow to the path of the least resistance," O'Leary said. "The dollar bill doesn't vote. It only looks to where it can get a good return with the least risk. It's not political. It's really smart. And it knows where to go. Well, it's coming here to Montana."

Although the tribes have yet to formally commit to plans, Martin Charlo, CSKT tribal council secretary, said: "Our tribes have always been a people of vision and I believe that Kevin, and Mr. Daines, and Governor Gianforte, and Akbar are bringing this great vision to us." If plans go ahead, the Salish Kootenai Dam south of Polson on the Flathead Reservation, would supply the majority of power to the facility.

The businessman and investor highlighted that post-pandemic shifts in consumer behavior and improved technology literacy has driven the value of data up, and added: "There are 11 sectors of the S&P 500," O'Leary said. "Energy is a sector. Technology is a sector. Consumer's a sector. Every single one of them is driven by data, and every day the demand for data is more and more insatiable." He went on to say data is the "new oil" and "more valuable than anything else," while stressing the importance of "clean power." "The world has decided, for good or bad, whether you agree with it or you don't, that ESG really, really matters."