The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been causing setbacks for U.S. Bitcoin miners.
Shipments of Bitmain Antminer ASICs, specifically the latest S21 and T21 models, have been held up at U.S. ports for as long as two months. As reported by Blockspace on November 25, seven unnamed U.S. mining firms have been affected.
The CBP, a part of the Department of Homeland Security, is acting on a request from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The miners whose shipments are frozen allege that the CBP is imposing holding fees. One company said it was charged over $200,000 for 200 ASICs stuck at the port.
The CBP’s Advanced Targeting Unit (ATU), which usually deals with high-risk cargo and travelers, is handling the delays. However, it remains uncertain if this is related to specific investigations or sanctions.
Some reports indicate the delays might be linked to Sophgo, a chip designer associated with Bitmain.
Sophgo was involved in a U.S. Department of Commerce probe regarding chips in Huawei’s AI processors.
Since 2019, Huawei has been under U.S. sanctions, potentially creating a domino effect in the supply chain.
Notably, ASICs from other Chinese manufacturers are not facing similar hold-ups, making Bitmain’s equipment the sole target.
Bitmain, which provides 98% of the world’s crypto mining chips, has been accused of undercutting U.S. chip makers with aggressive pricing.
This situation underlines the persistent tensions between U.S. authorities and Chinese firms in the crypto mining sector, especially after China’s 2021 crackdown on mining.
U.S. miners will have to watch and see how the issue unfolds as the delays are increasing their operational costs.
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