How to resolve the data center controversy? This US state wants to use computing power tokenization to let residents share the dividends.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy is partnering with infrastructure financing platform Plural to tokenize investment contracts for data center and energy projects, aiming to let ordinary residents invest directly and share in profits, modeled on the state's 40-year-old Permanent Fund Dividend, which pays each eligible resident $1,200 this year. The plan, announced alongside the creation of state-owned Alaska Data Corp. and a new investment vehicle called InvestNorth, would register investment products on-chain for transparent, real-time tracking, though the securities still require SEC registration or an exemption, and terms and liquidity protections remain unsettled. The effort comes as data centers face mounting local opposition nationwide over power demand and land use—a proposed 3-gigawatt project on the North Slope, drawing as much power as 2.4 million homes, has met heavy pushback, and dozens of local measures have restricted builds this election cycle. In Alaska, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, who leads in the race to succeed the term-limited Dunleavy, has proposed pausing new data center approvals until the legislature sets rules and local permitting authority; ballots are counted November 25 and the new governor is sworn in December 7. Critics call the tokenized products speculative exposure to risky AI infrastructure and note the state's dual role as both project promoter and securities issuer, while Dunleavy argues resident ownership could ease opposition by aligning community and project interests. What to watch next: whether the InvestNorth offering clears SEC requirements and draws retail demand, and whether the incoming administration preserves or pauses the program.