U.S. officials have begun to release a significant number of confiscated crypto mining equipment produced in China, although most of these devices are still held in custody, Reuters stated on Wednesday.
This action comes after several months of seizures at ports across the country, initiated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency at the request of the Federal Communications Commission, to enforce current regulations.
Decrypt has contacted the FCC for further details.
These enforcement actions have been taken amid growing worries regarding Chinese technology in critical areas, coinciding with escalating trade tensions stemming from President Donald Trump’s decisions to levy tariffs on China and other nations.
The actions taken by these agencies are consistent with the regulations set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which establishes guidelines for the handling of “advanced semiconductors” commonly utilized in AI and cryptocurrency, with the aim to “prevent diversion” of these resources to benefit Chinese interests.
Blockspace, a publication that focuses on Bitcoin mining and hardware, initially reported in November of last year that the seizures started by specifically targeting machines from Bitmain, a privately owned Chinese company.
As of February, the U.S. federal agencies had broadened their scope of seizures to include equipment from manufacturers MicroBT and Canaan.
Certain mining machines may have been held because they contained AI chips produced by Sophgo, a Chinese firm subject to trade restrictions, Blockspace reported.
Before the releases commenced, as many as 10,000 mining machines were stranded at various U.S. entry points, with some retailers asserting that the value of their confiscated equipment exceeded $5 million.
At that time, the equipment was labeled as “seized and subject to forfeiture” in accordance with U.S. legal provisions that empower authorities with discretionary rights over such items if deemed subject to restriction or prohibition.
These seizures have posed considerable operational hurdles for U.S.-based miners who depend on timely upgrades of their equipment to stay competitive.
The U.S. represents 43.8% of the Bitcoin network’s hashrate, holding the second largest share of mining pools globally, in comparison to China’s 45.8%, according to data from Hashrate Index.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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