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Biden blocks China-backed cryptocurrency mining firm from owning land near Wyoming military base
The Bitcoin logo, cryptocurrency representation and decreasing stock graph are seen in this illustration taken July 7, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustrations
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden issued an order Monday barring a China-backed cryptocurrency mining company from owning land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base.
The order requires the divestiture of property operated as a cryptocurrency mining facility near Francis E. Warren Air Force Base. It also forces the removal of some equipment owned by MineOne Partners Ltd., a company partially owned by the Chinese state.
This comes as the United States is expected to issue major new tariffs on Tuesday on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the plan.
The divestment order was issued in coordination with the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a little-known but potentially powerful government agency charged with investigating corporate deals for national security concerns that holds the power to compel the company to change.
A 2018 law gave CFIUS the authority to review real estate transactions near sensitive sites in the United States, including F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
The order was vague regarding specific national security concerns, with the Treasury Department saying only that there were problems with “specialized, foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities” that “presented a significant risk to national security”.
According to CFIUS, the purchase was not presented to the agency, as required, until the panel received a public tip.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who is chair of CFIUS, said the committee’s role is to “ensure that foreign investments do not undermine our national security, particularly with respect to transactions that pose risks to sensitive U.S. military installations such as for those involving specialized equipment and technologies.”
Left: The Bitcoin logo, cryptocurrency representation and falling stock graph are seen in this illustration, taken on July 7, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustrations