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Biden Bans Chinese Bitcoin Mine Near U.S. Nuclear Missile Base
An investigation identified national security risks posed by a crypto facility in Wyoming. It is near an Air Force base and a data center doing work for the Pentagon.
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The bitcoin mine in Cheyenne, Wyo., has been ordered to cease operations immediately.Credit...Stephen Speranza for The New York Times
By Michael Forsythe and Gabriel J.X. Dance
The reporters have investigated Chinese ownership of Bitcoin mines across the United States.
May 13, 2024
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President Biden on Monday ordered a company with Chinese origins to shut down and sell the Wyoming cryptocurrency mine it built a mile from an Air Force base that controls nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The cryptomining facility, which operates high-powered computers in a data center near the F.E. Warren base in Cheyenne, “presents a national security risk to the United States,” the president said in an executive order, because its equipment could be used for surveillance and espionage.
The New York Times reported last October that Microsoft, which operates a nearby data center supporting the Pentagon, had flagged the Chinese-connected cryptocurrency mine to the federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, warning that it could enable the Chinese to “pursue full-spectrum intelligence collection operations.” An investigation by the committee identified risks to national security, according to the president’s order.
The order did not detail those risks. But Microsoft’s report to the federal committee, obtained last year by The Times, said, “We suggest the possibility that the computing power of an industrial-level cryptomining operation, along with the presence of an unidentified number of Chinese nationals in direct proximity to Microsoft’s Data Center and one of three strategic-missile bases in the U.S., provides significant threat vectors.”
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Now, the mine must immediately cease operations, and the owners must remove all their equipment within 90 days and sell or transfer the property within 120 days, according to the order, which cites the risks of the facility’s “foreign-sourced” mining equipment. A vast majority of the machinery powering cryptomining operations across the United States is manufactured by Chinese companies.
Relations Between China and the U.S. The Green Economy: China dominates the production of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric cars. Here’s why that’s a problem for the Biden administration. Surge of Chinese Imports: President Biden has proposed new barriers to Chinese electric vehicles, steel and other goods in an attempt to protect his manufacturing agenda. Sanctions on Chinese Companies: The Biden administration announced nearly 300 new sanctions on international suppliers of military equipment technology that the administration said have been helping Russia restock its arsenal as it carries out the war in Ukraine. Panda Diplomacy: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China confirmed that two giant pandas — Yun Chuan and Xin Bao — would be sent from the China Conservation and Research Center to the San Diego Zoo.
Cryptomining operations are housed in large warehouses or shipping containers packed with specialized computers that typically run around the clock, performing trillions of calculations per second, hunting for a sequence of numbers that will reward them with new cryptocurrency. The most common is Bitcoin, currently worth more than $60,000 apiece. Crypto mines consume an enormous amount of electricity: At full capacity, the one in Cheyenne would draw as much power as 55,000 homes.
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Michael Forsythe a reporter on the investigations team at The Times, based in New York. He has written extensively about, and from, China. More about Michael Forsythe
Gabriel J.X. Dance is the deputy investigations editor. His reporting focuses on the nexus of privacy and safety online and has prompted Congressional inquiries and criminal investigations. More about Gabriel J.X. Dance
See more on: President Joe Biden
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