Biden blocks Chinese-backed crypto miner from land ownership near Wyoming military base

By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday issued an order blocking a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining firm from owning land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base.

The order forces the divestment of property operated as a crypto mining facility near the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base. It also forces the removal of certain equipment owned by MineOne Partners Ltd., a firm that is partly owned by the Chinese state.

The move was made in coordination with the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States — a little-known but potentially potent government agency tasked with investigating corporate deals for national security concerns that holds power to force the company to change.

The order was vague about the specific national security concerns, with the Treasury Department saying only 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.”