ALEX LIEGL

Age: 28 • Cofounder, Layer1 Technologies

“Mining bitcoin is about converting electricity into money,” Liegl says. He’s betting $40 million in funding from the likes of billionaire Peter Thiel that he’s found the cheapest juice out in west Texas, where wind turbines outnumber oil wells. In exchange for cheap power, Layer1 helps manage the local power grid’s load. If the wind stops blowing, Liegl shuts down his bitcoin-mining machines. “We act as an insurance underwriter for the energy grid,” he says. It costs him about $2,000 to mine a single bitcoin, which currently trades at around $17,000. His message to any pikers still trying to mine crypto from their bedroom PC: “I can’t think of something more irrational at this point. It’s like if I wanted to dig a hole in my backyard and try to get oil out of the ground.”

JUDGES: Corey Capasso, founder, Urbint (Under 30 Class of 2015); Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, chief energy officer, University of Houston; Abigail Ross Hopper, CEO, Solar Energy Industries Association; Michael Skelly, senior advisor, Lazard