"Virgin" BitcoinShark tank investor Kevin O’Leary appeared on CoinDesk TV to talk about regulatory environments changing, crypto market volatility, and (primarily) provenance requirements for institutional investors. He predicts that over the next year, he’ll be partnered with “five to ten different miners” which will allow him to acquire “virgin coin” that he can sell at a premium. The following is a transcript of an excerpt from the interview where O’Leary elaborates on this issue:
I don’t think the community, if you want to call it that, realizes how big a deal this is going to become. And the value is going to be, and there will be a premium, on coin that you can say was mined ethically, was mined on a sustainable mandate or protocol, was mined and you know the provenance of it versus all other coins. Consider it the same debate going on with blood diamonds if you would. “Blood coin,” you know? The same idea. Is this coming from a place where I can feel that no institution or employee would think it was gained wrongfully. That’s the issue, believe me. Watch this happen. Watch this become the number one issue over the next 18 months.