A $6 million Bitcoin mine in Texas’ Channing is under the lens due to its links with China. A 23-year-old Chinese student named Jerry Yu, is the majority owner of the facility. The mine comprises of several dozen buildings designed to hold 6,000 specialized computers, reported The New York Times. The specialised computers in the Channing mine, can function day and night trying to guess the right sequence of numbers that earn new Bitcoins. Interestingly, the facility which is a large computing center, was bought with cryptocurrency.
Yu has come under the lens due to alleged Chinese investment to build or run crypto mines in the United States. Through the mines, Chinese investors generate cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, which they can encash in US dollars on exchanges. Chinese ownership of the mine, is being seen with a focus on national security.
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Yu’s activities, have emerged after his company BitRush Inc., also known as BytesRush, got into legal trouble after contractors who worked on his Channing mine alleged they weren’t fully paid for their work.
The report highlights that the source of the funds for the mine, has not been found out as investors have routed the money through Binance’s offshore exchange and used a cryptocurrency called Tether .
The report also notes that Chinese investors may use the Channing mine to avoid the US banking system and federal regulations. It highglights that under a traditional transaction, banks are aware of the source of funds and can report any suspicious money transfers to the US Treasury.
In one of the lawsuits involving Yu, Texas-based Crypton Mining Solutions has labelled allegations that investors in the Channing mine “are not only Chinese citizens, but citizens in highly political and influential business positions.”