Key Takeaways:
US President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order demanding Chinese cryptocurrency mining firm MineOne to shut down operations and sell land it owns near a US nuclear missile base in Wyoming, citing national security concerns.
Chinese Crypto Mining Firm MineOne Ordered to Sell Property Near US Missile Base
MineOne Partners, a majority Chinese-owned company, has been given 120 days to sell the property within a mile of the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base where it operates a Bitcoin mining facility.
The military base is home to the Minuteman III nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, which the White House called a “key element of America’s nuclear triad”.
MineOne purchased the land near the base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 2022 and later made changes to the property so that it could be used for specialized cryptocurrency mining operations.
As per Biden’s executive order, MineOne had not filed the land purchase with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) until the committee began investigating the transaction.
CFIUS is a federal interagency committee that reviews transactions that could impact US national security. It reviews foreign investments in US businesses and real estate transactions by foreign nationals in the country. The committee can recommend to the President to block or unwind investments that it believes pose a threat to national security.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is the chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. She noted in a statement that Biden’s decision to force MineOne to sell its land highlighted CFIUS’s gatekeeper role to ensure that foreign investments “do not undermine national security”.
MineOne Given 120 Days to Wind Up Operations in Wyoming
Last year, Biden issued an executive order instructing the committee to consider more national security risk factors in their assessment of foreign investments. CFIUS also launched an investigation against social media giant TikTok and its parent company ByteDance.
Microsoft, which runs a data center in connection with the Pentagon near MineOne’s facility, had also expressed its concerns to the committee, warning that it could allow the Chinese to pursue “full-spectrum” intelligence collection operations.
The White House said MineOne’s site contained specialized, foreign-sourced equipment capable of conducting surveillance and espionage activities on the US. Biden said he has “credible evidence” to believe that the majority Chinese-owned mining company, registered in the British Cayman Islands, “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States”.
MineOne and its partners have been given two options by the Biden administration, remove all mining equipment from the facility within 90 days or transfer ownership to a US-based company in 120 days.
Trade War Between the US and China is Escalating to New Fronts
US lawmakers have raised serious concerns regarding Chinese nationals and businesses purchasing property near critical military infrastructure.
The move comes against the backdrop of a wider crackdown by the US on Chinese companies. The Biden administration is set to sharply increase tariffs on several Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, medical supplies, and other equipment, amid growing tensions between the world’s most powerful economies.
In April, Biden signed an executive order forcing the divesture of TikTok from ByteDance on the grounds of national security.
Meanwhile, China has also increased scrutiny of US companies in recent years, citing national security concerns. Following a security review, Beijing restricted American firms from selling critical infrastructure to Chinese companies and cracked down on several foreign consultancy firms last year.
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