Key Points
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection is detaining Bitmain’s Antminer ASIC miners imports at ports nationwide.
- The detentions have affected seven U.S. Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies, causing significant daily holding fees.
The Federal Communications Commission has requested the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to detain imports of Bitmain’s Antminer ASIC miners. The detentions have been ongoing for up to two months across various ports nationwide.
The detentions have significantly impacted seven Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies based in the U.S. The affected models include the S21 and T21 series miners.
Reason for Detentions
The CBP has not clarified the reasons behind these detentions nor provided a timeline for resolution. Some of the affected companies have reported daily holding fees exceeding $200,000. Unlike Bitmain, other ASIC manufacturers like MicroBT or Canaan have not been targeted. The detentions are reportedly concentrated at West Coast ports, such as San Francisco.
Industry Speculations
Speculations within the industry suggest that these detentions may be linked to the scrutiny of chips supplied by Xiamen Sophgo, a Chinese semiconductor company. Sophgo is currently under investigation for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions.
Sophgo’s chips, including the CV1835, are reportedly used in certain Antminer models, like the S19 and T21 series. Micree Zhan, Sophgo’s CEO and co-founder of Bitmain, has raised questions about potential links to the investigation.
The Department of Commerce initiated an investigation into Sophgo after discovering a chip linked to the company in a Huawei device. Huawei has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019 due to national security concerns.
While no confirmed link exists between these sanctions and the detained Antminer shipments, sources speculate that the FCC and CBP are inspecting imports for restricted components.
