The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the Chinese mining giant over potential threats to the power grid and possible espionage activities.

Bitmain, the Chinese powerhouse and world’s leading supplier of Bitcoin mining equipment, has been the subject of a months-long investigation by US authorities. The probe, dubbed “Operation Red Sunset” and conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, examined whether mining devices produced by the Beijing-based company could pose a national security threat to the United States.

According to Bloomberg – citing a US official and six other people familiar with the investigation – authorities assessed whether Bitmain’s machines could be remotely manipulated for espionage purposes or used to compromise the US electrical grid.

Concerns over mining operations controlled by Chinese entities intensified after a New York Times investigation revealed several facilities linked to the Chinese Communist Party operating near critical US infrastructure. These included a site next to a Microsoft data center supporting the Pentagon and another near a nuclear missile base operated by the Air Force in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Many of these locations reportedly used Bitmain hardware.

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