President Joe Biden has signed a significant executive order, targeting a China-linked cryptocurrency mining firm, MineOne Cloud Computing Investment, and its associates, compelling them to divest a property they had recently acquired and upgraded for crypto operations near the strategically significant Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. The move, announced on May 13 by the White House, is rooted in national security concerns, as the base is home to intercontinental ballistic missiles.
In June 2022, MineOne acquired the land and made modifications to use it for crypto mining operations, only a mile away from the base. The order, which takes effect immediately, not only requires the company to remove all equipment but also prohibits Chinese-linked entities from accessing the site. The deadline for MineOne to sell the property is within 120 days, and it is strictly prohibited from transferring it to third parties.
Tech giant Microsoft, with a nearby data center, had previously raised concerns about the location, citing potential intelligence collection operations by the Chinese. In an August 2022 report to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Microsoft’s team highlighted the strategic value of the site. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who chairs CFIUS, underlined the role of the committee in safeguarding national security by forcing MineOne to sell the land.
MineOne, which raised over $20 million for its first fund in 2021, has been actively subscribed by US institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals since its launch in October of that year. Despite this interest, the company has not responded to inquiries from Cointelegraph.
This latest move by the Biden administration follows a broader crackdown on US Bitcoin mining, with China being a primary target in the administration’s ongoing “war on crypto.” The Chinese government’s crackdown on crypto mining in 2021 led to a significant exodus of operations to the US, where this new order further solidifies the administration’s commitment to protecting national security in the digital realm.
In the backdrop of the imminent increase in tariffs on Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, the Biden administration’s actions against MineOne serve as a clear demonstration of its determination to address potential threats posed by foreign investment in the crypto sector.