A few days ago, the US president Joe Biden prevented a Chinese company from building a Bitcoin mining farm near a nuclear missile base in Wyoming.
The decision was related to national security concerns linked to the proximity of the plant to an important military installation, as the ownership of the mining farm would have been indirectly linked to China.
Yesterday, however, it was discovered that this same company, MineOne, had meanwhile sold the land to another Bitcoin mining company, this time American.
Summary
Biden’s initiative: China’s Bitcoin mining farm passes to Americans
The American president opposed the construction of a Bitcoin mining farm within one mile of the Cheyenne military base using the powers of CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States).
Thanks to these powers, he was able to prevent the acquisition of the land by a company linked to China (MineOne).
It is already the eighth time that Biden uses the powers of CFIUS to prevent acquisitions and activities related to China in the USA, so it was not an initiative against Bitcoin mining.
The problem was only the ties of the acquiring company with China, and obviously the proximity to the Cheyenne military base in Wyoming, where intercontinental ballistic missiles Minuteman III (ICBM) are housed.
This suggests that Biden should not oppose the construction of the mining farm in case the ownership is American.
The turning point
Yesterday it was discovered that actually, a few days before the block imposed by Biden, the land on which the Cheyenne mining farm should be built was purchased by an American mining company, CleanSpark, listed on the Nasdaq with the ticker CLSK.
In the official announcement, CleanSpark states that it has reached an agreement to acquire 75 MW of Bitcoin mining sites in Wyoming for a total of 18.75 million dollars.
The company claims to have entered into definitive agreements for the acquisition of two sites for Bitcoin mining in Wyoming, with 75 MW of power already available and expandable by another 55 MW.
One of these would be the website owned by MineOne near the Cheyenne military base blocked by Biden.
The curious thing is that the sale agreement to the American company Cheyenne would have taken place less than a week before the block imposed by Biden.
Although it is only an agreement, with the sale not yet concluded, Biden’s block sounds a bit strange.
Indeed, one could also imagine that the president knew nothing about this agreement, but perhaps it is more likely that his initiative was actually aimed at forcing MineOne to accept the sale agreement to the American company CleanSpark.
CleanSpark, on the other hand, has stated that they are not aware of the block, and that they are still willing to proceed with the acquisition.
CleanSpark
CleanSpark owns and operates eight different data centers in the southern United States, with a total of almost 400 MW. Of these, 50 MW are located in a data center in the state of New York, to which the 75 MW already available in Wyoming will be added, along with another 55 MW on the new site.
The two new Wyoming facilities will add more than 7 EH/s to CleanSpark’s hashrate, while the company had previously purchased three other Bitcoin mining sites in Mississippi with a total hashrate of 2.4 EH/s.
Actually, CleanSpark is one of the largest BTC miners in North America.
The CEO, Zach Bradford, stated:
“Just three months ago we made the leap and expanded into Mississippi. Today I am pleased to share that we are continuing our journey with our expansion westward into Wyoming. Diversifying our portfolio is an integral part of our strategy and we are well positioned to take advantage of similar acquisitions in the wake of the halving”.
The price of CLSK shares on the stock market has been trading sideways since mid-February.
The absolute peak was reached in 2018, and in 2021 it briefly surpassed $42.
During the bear-market of 2022 there was a real crash, which brought the price down to below $2, but between 2023 and 2024 there was a rebound.
Last year, the price of CLSK shares returned above $10, and this year it has pushed up to over $24 in March.
Since then it has dropped below $17, which is much higher than the bottom of the bear market, but still significantly lower than the highs of 2021.
It is worth noting that CleanSpark is valued at around 3.7 billion dollars on the stock exchange, while for example Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), the benchmark for US Bitcoin mining companies, is valued at almost 5.4 billion dollars. The other major competitor, Riot Platform (RIOT), is valued at less than 3 billion.
