US Customs Clears Crypto Mining Equipment
Date: 2025-03-07 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
US Customs has seized large quantities of cryptocurrency mining equipment at ports across the country, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The problems have been particularly severe with more than 10,000 Bitmain Antminers supplied by Chinese company Sophgo. The problems began after the chipmaker was sanctioned by the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security.
Sophgo was sanctioned back in October last year. According to Reuters, the reason was the assumption that the company acted as an intermediary between Taiwanese semiconductor maker TSMC and Chinese tech giant Huawei, which is on the US sanctions list.
By February, US regulators had expanded the list of seized equipment to include devices from MicroBT and Canaan. Under US law, the seized mining rigs were classified as “seized and subject to forfeiture.” Many of the retailers affected by the actions said they lost millions of dollars in equipment.
Meanwhile, analysts at JPMorgan Chase have noted the growing role of the US in the global mining industry. According to their data, 14 publicly traded mining companies listed on the US stock market now control 29% of the global Bitcoin hashrate.
