How to Resolve Data Center Disputes? This U.S. State Wants to Use Compute Tokenization to Let Residents Share the Dividends

Alaska partners with Plural to advance compute tokenization for data center and energy projects, aiming to allow residents to share in AI infrastructure benefits through on-chain investment products and mitigate local opposition, though controversies over liquidity and dual roles persist.

Author: Emma Haidar, Bloomberg

Translated by: Chopper, Foresight News

For years, Alaska has shared its oil revenues with local residents. Now, the state governor hopes to extend this model to the booming data center industry, using blockchain technology to allow residents to reap economic benefits. However, due to the massive energy demands of data centers, the sector is facing growing opposition.

The state government will build a platform to organize and track investments in data center and energy projects, planning to open direct investment channels to ordinary Alaskan residents. The initiative aims to allow residents to share in the profits generated by data center development, though the specific structures and terms of the investments have yet to be finalized. Such securities offerings typically require registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or must qualify for an exemption.

Alaska is partnering with infrastructure financing platform Plural to put investment contracts on-chain—tokenizing them—so that transaction records can be digitally stored and tracked. The long-term goal is to enable ordinary Alaskans to directly invest in the state’s data centers and energy projects.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy stated, “I want to find a completely new way for everyday people to participate in resource development. What we want to do in Alaska is let everyone become a small capitalist, each having the opportunity to receive dividends.”

Figure: Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy speaking at the CERAWeek event

Emulating Oil Permanent Fund Dividends, Data Centers Face Local Backlash

This model has been running in Alaska’s oil industry for over forty years. For decades, Alaskan residents have received annual dividends through the Permanent Fund Dividend program, which is why most residents continue to support the state’s oil exploration. This year, every eligible Alaskan resident receives a $1,200 dividend.

Alaska officials have long promoted the state’s ample land, cool climate, and abundant natural resources like natural gas and hydropower, arguing it is ideal for data centers; the downside is a somewhat fragmented power grid. However, data center projects are still a nascent sector in the state, and related proposals have faced significant pushback from residents, mirroring backlash across the country.

Figure: Section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and Dalton Highway on Alaska’s North Slope

A previously planned 3-gigawatt data center on Alaska’s North Slope, with power consumption equivalent to that of 2.4 million households, drew widespread public opposition.

Democratic candidate Mary Peltola leads in the federal Senate race and has set up a dedicated website criticizing incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan for backing data center projects. The site claims that large-scale construction of such infrastructure would drive up electricity rates, consume public recreational land, and threaten fish and caribou populations.

Similar backlash has emerged across the nation. During this election cycle, dozens of local ordinances have been passed to restrict or halt data center construction. Texas, Georgia, and Ohio were originally key areas for AI infrastructure investment, but newly elected Democratic governors campaigned on promising greater say for local communities.

Figure: Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Mary Peltola

Alaska is highly likely to follow suit. Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins holds a commanding lead in the gubernatorial race and is poised to succeed Dunleavy, whose term is expiring. Kreiss-Tomkins has proposed pausing approvals for new data center projects until the state legislature enacts corresponding regulatory frameworks and delegates approval authority to local jurisdictions.

Figure: Democratic candidate for Alaska Governor Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins

A spokesperson for Kreiss-Tomkins’ campaign did not respond to interview requests regarding data center construction. Alaska plans to finalize ballot counting on November 25, with the newly elected governor to be sworn in on December 7.

Controversy Over On-Chain Tokenization Mechanics and the State Government’s Dual Role

Tokenization is one way to open data center projects to a broader pool of investors. Multiple Wall Street firms have already adopted this approach, registering assets such as stocks and bonds on distributed ledgers. Proponents argue that tokenization offers greater transparency, faster settlement, and round-the-clock trading capabilities; meanwhile, the total value of tokenized real-world assets on-chain has also grown significantly.

At the same time, the Dunleavy administration announced the establishment of Alaska Data, a company under the state’s Economic Development Department, specifically tasked with attracting private capital for the initiative. The state government plans to market investment products to retail investors through a new entity called InvestNorth.

Although the initiative aims to give everyday people the chance to invest in AI-related infrastructure, it comes with new risks. With the plan still unimplemented, issues such as liquidity and investor protection remain unresolved.

Critics view it as essentially a speculative product targeting high-risk AI infrastructure projects. Alaska assumes a dual role: promoting data center projects while simultaneously issuing related investment products. If these projects ultimately incur losses, the state government could find itself in an awkward position.

But Dunleavy believes that allowing residents to hold shares in these projects can ease public resistance to data centers. “If locals can become shareholders and earn returns, the interests of the community and the project will align,” he said.

Plural CEO Adam Silver acknowledges the genuine tension between Wall Street’s enthusiasm for the AI boom and the public’s concerns over data centers. “Our solution directly addresses this contradiction. You can be a resident voicing worries at the dinner table, while also being an investor funding the project and profiting from it.”

Brandon Brefczynski, President of Alaska Data and Deputy Director of the state’s Economic Development Department, views Alaska’s push toward tokenization as an advanced version of the permanent fund dividend model. “It’s a step forward, allowing Alaskan residents to directly invest in these projects.”

Silver noted that a major advantage of tokenization is that Alaskan residents can clearly track where funds are going within the state. “You can monitor project performance in real time—checking for defaults, missed targets, or overachievements—all recorded on-chain and publicly visible.”

Silver mentioned that about a year ago, the governor began taking an interest in the data center surge, prompting initial contact. Developers are now moving beyond traditional concentrated hubs like Virginia’s Northern Virginia “data center corridor,” and Alaska hopes to capture a portion of that migrating investment.

Despite his term coming to an end, Dunleavy remains bullish on the model. “This model will eventually blossom across the United States.”

Join the official Coincamps community:

X: https://x.com/coincamps

Telegram: https://t.me/coin_camps