The White House has ordered a Chinese group that runs a crypto-mining operation in Wyoming to sell the land where it keeps its servers because the facility is next to a base that houses US nuclear ballistic missiles.
President Joe Biden ordered MineOne Partners and its partners to sell the land next to Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming within 120 days.
He said the British Virgin Islands group was majority owned by Chinese nationals and had not informed the US government about the sensitive transaction.
The US military deploys Minuteman III nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles at Warren AFB, in south-east Wyoming.
In the divestiture order issued on Monday, Biden said MineOne used specialised equipment for cryptocurrency mining that included foreign-sourced technology which posed a national security risk. “The proximity of the foreign-owned real estate to a strategic missile base and key element of America’s nuclear triad, and the presence of specialised and foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities, presents a national security risk to the US,” Biden said in the order.
@ISIDEWITH2 setmanes2W
What does it say about the global nature of technology and investment when a cryptocurrency operation near a military base raises security concerns?
@ISIDEWITH2 setmanes2W
How would you balance the need for national security with the rights of foreign investors?
@ISIDEWITH2 setmanes2W
Do you believe that a business owned by foreign nationals near a military base can be a threat to national security, even if it's just mining cryptocurrency?
@ISIDEWITH2 setmanes2W
Should the government have the power to force a company to sell its property if it poses a potential security risk?
@ISIDEWITH2 setmanes2W
How do you feel about foreign-owned companies operating near national security sites?
