U.S. authorities have begun releasing thousands of Chinese-made cryptocurrency mining machines that were previously seized at ports of entry, according to industry executives.
Synteq Digital CEO Taras Kulyk told Reuters that thousands of cryptocurrency mining units have been released after up to 10,000 machines were initially seized at various U.S. ports. He claimed that the detentions were not random but deliberate efforts by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials to disrupt the Bitcoin mining industry.
“Apparently, there were some folks in the CBP that really didn’t like Bitcoin mining, so they wanted to give the entire sector a headache, which they did quite well,”
Kulyk said.
The situation is closely tied to growing U.S.-China tensions, particularly in the semiconductor sector. Bitmain’s Antminer rigs became entangled in the dispute after the U.S. Department of Commerce flagged their chip supplier, Sophgo.
In October last year, officials identified chips linked to Sophgo inside a Huawei AI processor, raising concerns given Huawei’s ongoing U.S. sanctions. Despite Sophgo’s denial of any connection to Huawei, the Federal Communications Commission reportedly pushed for the seizures, arguing that certain Antminer models, including the S21 and T21, might violate U.S. regulations.
Most of the seized mining rigs remain unreleased, with only a small number cleared by authorities. Luxor Technology’s COO, Ethan Vera, stated that concerns over radio frequency emissions are the reason for the detentions, a justification industry experts consider unfounded. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recently begun detaining mining rigs from other Chinese manufacturers like MicroBT and Canaan for similar compliance issues.
Vera and Kulyk dismissed the allegations regarding radio frequency emissions, calling them unfounded per the report. This development comes as the U.S. government continues to tighten restrictions on Chinese imports, with policies such as the 10% tariff imposed during the Trump administration adding further complications for the cryptocurrency mining industry.
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