What's going on with Bitcoin in Wyoming?

The national security concerns about the Wyoming site, previously unreported, reflect a broader unease about a recent surge in Chinese Bitcoin mines across the country. Aside from intelligence-gathering worries, the mines, which are large warehouses or containers packed with specialized computers, put immense pressure on power grids.

Could Bitmain have controlled its mining machines?

Bitmain’s dominance of the mining machine market has raised fears. In the past, researchers found “back doors” that would have allowed the company to covertly operate its equipment. After one was discovered in 2017, the company confirmed it could have remotely controlled its mining machines. A similar issue was found in 2019.

Do computers run around the clock while mining cryptocurrencies?

The computers typically run around the clock while “mining” for the digital coins, the most popular among the various cryptocurrencies. The Chinese-tied Bitcoin mine in Cheyenne, Wyo., is next door to a Microsoft data center, above, that supports the Pentagon.