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A Bitcoin (BTC) mining facility owned by China in Cheyenne, Wyoming, has raised national security concerns, with stakeholders believing that the operations of this facility could pose a significant threat to critical military infrastructure in the US.
Microsoft Report on Bitcoin Mining Facility
According to The New York Times’ article dated October 13, the said Bitcoin mining facility has caught the attention of US officials. The mining facility has the potential to provide an opportunity for the Chinese government to conduct “comprehensive intelligence-gathering operations,” which has raised concerns among US officials. The operation of this crypto mining facility was brought to the attention of the US government when a team at Microsoft presented a report to the Foreign Investment Committee in August 2022.
The team expressed concerns about the operation’s potential to gather sensitive information from the data center in Cheyenne, which plays a crucial role in supporting Pentagon’s operational needs. Microsoft provided the following information regarding the matter:
Microsoft does not have direct evidence of malicious activities related to this mining facility. However, until further investigations are conducted, we see the possibility of an industrial-scale cryptocurrency mining operation presenting significant threat vectors, as it is located in close proximity to Microsoft’s Data Center and one of the three strategic missile bases in the US, with an undisclosed number of Chinese citizens.
Sources of Concern
US officials are also concerned that the Chinese-owned Bitcoin mining facility could be used to intentionally disrupt power grids, cause planned outages, or engage in other cyber attacks. This has further fueled concerns about the Chinese government targeting and undermining US military operations.
The mining facility based in Wyoming has drawn attention due to its proximity to the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, which hosts Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). Interestingly, the mining is associated with five companies, one of which, Bit Origin, was previously registered as a pork processing company in the Cayman Islands.
Bit Origin’s president, Li Jiaming, refuted the claims that the mining facility was constructed for intelligence gathering purposes, stating that he was chosen due to the collaboration between a local public utility company and the mining operation. Jiaming said, “Even though we are neighbors with Microsoft and a few miles away from a US base, nothing can be done without electricity.”
The recent concerns come after a previous report stating that military officials had identified Chinese malicious software capable of disrupting the electricity, water, and communication systems of military bases, further strengthening concerns about potential national security threats. This development follows China’s ban on all applications related to high-resource-consuming Bitcoin mining and similar cryptocurrencies in 2021, which forced many companies in the crypto market to relocate to other countries, including the US.
