US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities have reportedly started releasing Chinese-made crypto miners after months of being held up at ports of entry across the United States.
“Thousands of units have been released” after as many as 10,000 miners were seized at various ports of entry, Taras Kulyk, CEO of crypto mining manufacturer firm Synteq Digital, told Reuters.
“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.”
Bitcoin mining infrastructure firm Luxor Technology chief operating officer Ethan Vera also told Reuters that “some held shipments are being released, but right now that is still a minority of them.”
Customs authorities have been delaying the delivery of Bitmain Antminer application-specific integrated circuits since as early as last September or thereabout, Blockspace said in November.
The holdup is understood to be related to Bitmain-related chip designer Sophgo, which was caught up in a US Department of Commerce investigation in October after chips like the ones it ordered in Taiwan were found in a Huawei AI processor. Huawei has been under US sanctions since 2019.
Sophgo, however, has denied having any business relationship with Huawei.
One company reportedly said the CBP was charging a holding fee for the 200 ASICs it was waiting to receive. The bill has exceeded $200,000, it said in November.
ASICs from other Chinese manufacturers were reportedly not being held by the CBP.
The actions by the CBP reportedly came at the request of the US Federal Communications Commission Agency.
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The release of the Chinese-made Bitcoin miners comes as the Trump administration imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports.
President Donald Trump’s tariff plans with bordering countries Canada and Mexico are still going ahead.
China supplies 98% of all chips used in crypto mining. Its largest manufacturer, Bitmain, recently expanded its production line into the US to better deal with delayed deliveries.
Bitmain said in December that it hopes the move would provide a “significant boost” to its industry partners.
Nearly 38% of the Bitcoin network hashrate is based in the US, according to The Chain Bulletin’s Bitcoin Mining Map, and four of the largest Bitcoin miners by valuation — MARA Holdings, Core Scientific, CleanSpark and Riot Platforms — are also based in the US.
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