After a months-long delay, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is reportedly releasing cryptocurrency mining equipment originating from China that had been held at various US ports.
According to Taras Kulyk, the head of Synteq Digital, a crypto mining hardware manufacturer, “Thousands of units have been released” after approximately 10,000 miners were previously held. Kulyk shared this information with Reuters.
“It seems certain individuals within the CBP were not in favor of Bitcoin mining and aimed to disrupt the industry, which they accomplished effectively.”
Ethan Vera, Chief Operating Officer at Luxor Technology, a firm specializing in Bitcoin mining infrastructure, also mentioned to Reuters that “some of the detained shipments are being freed, though it represents a small fraction of the total.”
Reports indicate that customs officials began postponing the delivery of Bitmain Antminer ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) around September of last year, according to a November report from Blockspace.
The hold-up is believed to be connected to Sophgo, a chip design company linked to Bitmain. Sophgo became entangled in a US Department of Commerce investigation last October. This investigation was triggered after chips, resembling those ordered by Sophgo in Taiwan, were discovered within a Huawei AI processor. Huawei has been under US sanctions since 2019.
However, Sophgo has stated that it has no commercial ties to Huawei.
One company claimed that the CBP was imposing storage fees on the 200 ASIC units they were awaiting. They reported in November that the accumulating costs had surpassed $200,000.
It has been reported that ASICs from other Chinese producers were not subject to similar delays by the CBP.
Sources suggest that the CBP’s actions were initiated at the request of the US Federal Communications Commission.
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The release of the Chinese-manufactured Bitcoin mining equipment coincides with the Trump administration’s implementation of a 10% tariff on goods imported from China.
President Trump’s tariff plans with neighboring countries Canada and Mexico remain in effect.
China accounts for 98% of the global chip supply used in cryptocurrency mining. Bitmain, the largest manufacturer, recently expanded its production operations into the United States in an effort to mitigate shipping delays.
Bitmain communicated in December that it anticipated this expansion would give a “significant push” to its industry partnerships.
Roughly 38% of the Bitcoin network’s total hashrate is located within the United States, according to the Bitcoin Mining Map from The Chain Bulletin. Furthermore, four of the top Bitcoin mining companies based on market capitalization—MARA Holdings, Core Scientific, CleanSpark, and Riot Platforms—are headquartered in the United States.
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