United States President Joe Biden has signed an order to halt operations of a China-linked crypto mining firm near a Wyoming nuclear missile base due to national security concerns.
On May 13, the White House announced the order, which mandates that MineOne Cloud Computing Investment and its partners divest from the property near Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Biden emphasized that entities owned by Chinese nationals “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.”
MineOne, a company primarily owned by Chinese nationals but registered in the British Virgin Islands, acquired the property in June 2022 and converted it into a crypto mining facility close to the strategic missile base. The firm is now required to remove all installed equipment and vacate the site, which is less than a mile from the base, within 120 days. The order also prohibits Chinese-linked entities from any future access to the site.
The proximity of the MineOne site to both the missile base and a nearby Microsoft data center had previously raised concerns. In August 2022, Microsoft warned the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) that the location could enable Chinese entities to conduct comprehensive intelligence operations.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who chairs the CFIUS, underscored the importance of the committee’s role in safeguarding national security by preventing foreign investments from undermining it.
MineOne, which raised over $20 million for its initial fund within a month in 2021, has been actively subscribed to by U.S. institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals since October 2021. Despite inquiries, MineOne has not provided immediate comments on the order.
This action is part of the Biden administration’s broader crackdown on the U.S. Bitcoin mining industry, following China’s lead in heavily curtailing crypto mining operations in 2021, which caused many operations to relocate to the United States.
The White House order coincides with an impending increase in tariffs on several Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, reflecting the administration’s stringent stance on Chinese economic activities.