President Biden has blocked a Chinese-backed crypto miner from owning land near a nuclear missile base in Wyoming. The President issued the order Monday to prevent MineOne Partners Ltd from owning and operating on land close to the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.
The order also enforces the removal of certain equipment owned by MineOne on the land. MineOne is a crypto-mining firm partly owned by the Chinese state. The executive branch coordinated the move with the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. This government agency investigates corporate deals for national security concerns and holds the power to force the company to change.
MineOne acquired the property near the nuclear missile base in June 2022. The company made improvements to allow for the use of specialized cryptocurrency mining operations but now must cease operations on the land by order of the government. The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA) covers real estate transactions close to certain sensitive U.S. facilities. With MineOne operating near F.E. Warren Air Force Base, it was subject to investigation under this act.
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The US Treasury Department says that there were issues with “specialized and foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities” that “presented a significant national security risk.” President Biden’s decision to prevent the crypto miner from operating near the nuclear missile base is effective immediately.