Bitcoin Mining and US Critical Infrastructure Security

The Bitcoin mining ecosystem in the United States poses a growing risk to domestic critical infrastructure. Mining data centers put the energy grid at risk for power failures. Strategically motivated Foreign Direct Investments in mining facilities and hardware add to this risk, compounded by the recent discovery of Chinese state-sponsored actors in the IT systems of US critical infrastructure environments. As Bitcoin's value and ownership by mainstream financial institutions and investors grows, the US-based Bitcoin mining ecosystem itself should be considered critical infrastructure. As such, it is now a focal point for geopolitical, economic and national security concerns