To keep the country safe, the US government stopped a Chinese-backed company from building a Bitcoin mining center in Wyoming.
President Joe Biden signed an order on May 13th asking MineOne Cloud Computing Investment, a company mostly owned by Chinese people, to stop its work on building a cryptocurrency mine near Cheyenne, Wyoming’s Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.
According to the order, they have 120 days to sell the land and take down any equipment that is already there. This is because people are afraid of possible threats to the country’s safety. Groups with ties to China can’t get to the spot either since it is very close to the U.S. air base.
Biden Administration Responds to Microsoft’s Warning on Crypto Mine
After more research, the decision was made after October 2023 warnings from tech giant Microsoft. In an email to the Federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, Microsoft said that the mine site could be used to spy on people. This made people worry about Chinese people who lived near important buildings.
China stopped crypto mining in 2021. Since then, as part of the Biden administration’s war on crypto mining, Chinese mining companies have been moving to the U.S. China has built mining farms in 12 states, such as Texas, Wyoming, Arkansas, and Ohio, according to the New York Times. Why is this? Because of good conditions, like places where power costs are lower.
However the rise in these kinds of operations has made people worry that foreign groups could use security holes in the country to harm. This is why the U.S. government has taken steps to make things safer. It has put a 30% tax on the energy that mines use, which some lawmakers have called unfair because it could hurt the business.
The most recent move by the Biden administration shows how dedicated it is to protecting national interests and keeping key infrastructure safe in the face of new technologies and foreign players that pose new threats.
MineOne Cloud Computing Investment has to follow tight rules to keep the U.S. safe, which is a big loss.
