Foreign-owned mining enterprises in the United States pose a potential danger and pose a threat to national security. This opinion was expressed by Senator Elizabeth Warren.
During a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, she called mining enterprises a "disaster" for the environment.
"They are noisy, hot and absorb a lot of electricity, which can destroy our energy system," said a politician representing the Democratic Party.
For this reason, "many countries" have banned mining, forcing foreign companies in the industry to relocate to the United States, Warren believes. According to her, a third of crypto farms in the country belong to Chinese citizens, including people "with direct ties to the Chinese government."
One of the reasons for criticism was the story of MineOne
In a question to the Deputy Secretary for Investment Security of the Ministry of Finance, Paul Rosen, who participated in the hearings, she turned to the MineOne case. In May, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an order prohibiting a mining firm controlled by investors from China from owning real estate near the Wyoming Air Force base.
The data center was located a mile from the base of the Minuteman III strategic missiles. Rosen represents the Committee on Foreign Investment of the United States (CFIUS), which recommended that the head of state issue a ban for fear of espionage.
The official agreed with Warren's concerns about potential intelligence activities using equipment hosted at mining enterprises.
"This is an obvious national security risk, but not the only one. Crypto farms owned by a foreign owner also threaten the energy network," Warren noted.
She referred to NYT data, according to which the energy consumption of Chinese-owned bitcoin mining enterprises in the United States is equivalent to 1.5 million households. National security experts warned that such a connection to the national energy system puts the country in a vulnerable position for targeted blackouts and cyber attacks, the senator stressed.
Rosen also agreed with her opinion that the purchase of bitcoin farms by foreigners for cryptocurrency allows funds to be transferred to the country, bypassing the banking system and anti-money laundering rules. Warren referred to a similar secret acquisition by a Chinese investor of a mining company in Texas for $6 million.
She drew attention to the fact that transactions through digital assets allow American companies to transfer "millions of dollars" to China without control.
CFIUS, addressing President Biden regarding MineOne, noted that they learned about the facility from open sources. After the order of the head of state, it turned out that the company is in the process of selling CleanSpark from the USA.
"Last year, the Ministry of Finance requested additional tools from Congress to prevent China, Iran, Russia and other foreign countries from using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions and launder dirty money. It's time for us to pass the necessary laws," Warren concluded.
Support for Warren's Toughening Cryptocurrency Regulation Bill Has Faltered
In December 2022, Warren and Republican Roger Wayne Marshall introduced a bipartisan bill in the Senate aimed at tightening measures to combat money laundering using digital assets.
According to the provisions of the Digital Asset Anti Money Laundering Act, KYC procedures apply to wallet providers, validator miners and other network participants. Financial institutions are prohibited from interacting with transaction mixing services.
"The crypto industry should follow the rules of common sense like banks, brokers or Western Union. This legislative initiative will ensure that the same standards are applied to similar financial transactions," Warren commented at the time.
In July 2023, the document was submitted to the Banking Committee, and Lindsey Graham and Joe Manchin joined the co-authors.
The initiative was widely criticized by industry participants, who saw it as a direct attack on technological progress and rejection of liberal values. But support for the document in the Senate has been gradually growing throughout 2023. So, in September, nine members of the chamber joined the coalition, in December — five more.
However, on July 24, 2024, the original co-author of the document, Marshall, withdrew from it.
Data: the website of the US Congress.At the time of writing, 18 senators are listed among those who supported the bill, including one Republican, Lindsey Graham. The Chamber consists of 100 members, with the current 51-seat majority held by Democrats.
In recent months, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has made support for cryptocurrencies and criticism of the Biden administration's regulation of the industry one of the topics of the election campaign.
https://forklog.com/exclusive/ot-nenastoyashhih-deneg-do-millionov-v-bitkoinah-kak-i-pochemu-donald-tramp-stal-kriptoprezidentomBloomberg noted the hopes of industry companies for Trump's victory.
But after Biden's exit from the election race, Mark Cuban said that Vice President Kamala Harris, who is likely to become the Democratic candidate, could be "much more open" to technological innovations and cryptocurrencies. The billionaire said that close advisers to the politician have already contacted him for advice on digital assets.
Recall that in June, Kraken co-founder Jess Powell, as well as Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, donated $1 million in cryptocurrencies to Trump's election campaign. Some of the funds were returned to them due to exceeding the limit of $844,600.
In July, the brothers each contributed 8 BTC (~$500,000 at that time) to the fund of Warren's rival in the upcoming Senate elections, the well—known industry lawyer John Deaton.