Biden stopped a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency company from seizing land near a Wyoming missile base

This Monday, President Joe Biden issued an order requiring a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency company, MineOne Partners Limited, to divest from a property located near Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming and remove specific equipment from the site for national security reasons.

The White House reported that credible evidence was found that MineOne Partners Limited (a company backed by Chinese nationals) and its affiliates “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States” after acquiring a property in June 2022 that is located near the nuclear missile base.

According to the order, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), responsible for investigating corporate deals on national security grounds, was not informed of the purchase until the panel received public notice. An investigation discovered that the company had adapted the property to carry out cryptocurrency mining operations, using specialized equipment, "some of which is of foreign origin."

“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 specialized and foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities, presents a national security risk to the United States,” the White House said.

As a result, the committee ordered the sale of the property within the next 120 days, along with the removal of all structures and equipment from the site within the next 90 days.

“Until the Divestment, Equipment Removal, and Improvements Removal have been completed and verified to the satisfaction of CFIUS, the Purchasers shall not, and shall ensure that their Affiliates do not, dissolve, reorganize, or transfer their ownership of or any other property rights in the Real Estate,” the order establishes.

It should be remembered that the CFIUS is comprised of members from the Departments of State, Justice, Energy, Commerce, and others who investigate the risks to national security derived from foreign investments in U.S. companies.

In 2018, a law gave the committee the authority to examine real estate transactions near sensitive sites across the United States, including Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.