US-based crypto miners are dealing with delays in receiving ASIC mining {hardware} resulting from intensified scrutiny of shipments from China’s Bitcoin, the dominant provider of Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs.
As Bloomberg Information reported, business executives mentioned shipments of Bitmain machines have been held up resulting from elevated scrutiny by US Customs and Border Safety (CBP).
The timing aligns with the US Commerce Division’s January blacklisting of Xiamen Sophgo Applied sciences Ltd., an AI agency affiliated with Bitmain, accused of furthering Beijing’s ambitions in superior chip manufacturing.
The delays additionally come amid escalating commerce tensions between the US and China. The most recent seizures and import maintain signify a notable escalation from the CBP’s detainment of Antminer S21 and T21 models final 12 months.
Mounting regulatory stress
Bitmain, which controls roughly 90% of the worldwide marketplace for specialised Bitcoin mining rigs, has been topic to US tariffs since 2018.
On Feb. 1, President Donald Trump introduced an extra 10% levy on Chinese language imports, additional complicating the panorama for miners reliant on Bitmain’s machines.
Nuo Xu, founding father of the China Digital Mining Affiliation, mentioned:
“US Customs has began randomly inspecting virtually all airlifted Bitcoin mining machines since about three months in the past.”
He added that officers are scrutinizing machines extra carefully and demanding certificates of origin, additional delaying shipments.
A supply accustomed to the state of affairs disclosed that an Oklahoma-based mining operation with 2,000 rigs has been considerably delayed resulting from stringent customs checks. Luxor Know-how COO Ethan Vera mentioned shipments with Bitmain labels are amongst these focused by customs.
Taras Kulyk, CEO at Synteq Digital, a serious mining {hardware} dealer, mentioned:
“Heavier tariffs would primarily halt the importation of new-generation {hardware} into the US, making it fully cost-prohibitive. There shall be a ton of initiatives that may stop building as a result of they wouldn’t be capable to get the {hardware}.”
Impression on US mining
The contemporary tariffs have already had a measurable impression on the US mining business regardless of its exceptional progress previously six months.
In response to CBP knowledge compiled by TheMinerMag, the gross weight of imported Bitcoin mining rigs and equipment plummeted practically 65% year-over-year in January 2025. The shortcoming to safe new tools at aggressive costs might undermine the long-term viability of US mining corporations.
New York-based Bit Digital not too long ago skilled a two-week delay on a cargo of 700 mining machines, a comparatively minor setback, in keeping with CEO Sam Tabar. Nonetheless, others are dealing with steeper challenges.
The regulatory stress additionally threatens Bitmain’s domination, as competitors from China-based MicroBT and California’s Auradine is mounting.
Vera warned:
“I’d anticipate any firm shopping for Bitmain’s machines goes to be in danger proper now, together with the general public ones.”
In an effort to take care of the present state of affairs, Bitmain not too long ago launched a home manufacturing line within the US to counter the import-related challenges for its machines. The rollout of the Antminer S21 Professional from the brand new US facility is predicted to supply miners with a much-needed enhance in effectivity and scale back operational uncertainty.
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