President Joe Biden has issued an executive order preventing MineOne, a mostly Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining company, from owning land near a strategic nuclear missile base in Wyoming for security reasons.
In a statement, the White House said there is credible evidence that MineOne Partners Limited, a British Virgin Islands company, is majority-owned by Chinese nationals. The acquisition of the property puts the company within 1.6 kilometers of Francis E. Air Force Base. Warren and 3.5 km west of Cheyenne, Wyoming. A divestment order was approved and the company had to cease operations.
According to the US government, MineOne acquired the property in June 2022 to mine cryptocurrencies near a nuclear missile base.
The statement explained that due to the company’s proximity to the strategic missile base, the presence of specialized equipment from abroad could facilitate surveillance and espionage activities. This, in turn, poses a threat to U.S. national security – and for this reason the U.S. government has blocked the property.
Unfulfilled legal requirements
The transaction was reported to the regulatory body, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), until the transaction team investigated the sale of the property following a public tip. CFIUS is responsible for reviewing the national security implications of foreign investment.
The United States and China are in a global competition for hegemony as great powers. As of 2023. China and the United States are the world’s largest economies in terms of nominal GDP.
US-China trade war
“The Wall Street Journal reports that as the race for the 2024 presidential election gains momentum, the U.S.-China trade fight is becoming a more central topic. Recently, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, after both President Biden and former President Donald Trump called for more trade restrictions against China, with Beijing slapping new tariffs on some US imports.
Although cryptocurrency mining is legal in the U.S., many authorities have voiced their opposition to it due to its extensive energy use and environmental pollution.
