US authorities seize Bitcoin mining ASICs over unapproved AI chips

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has conducted an enforcement action to seize Bitcoin mining application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) at US port entry points after receiving direction from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 

The crackdown expanded to include machines produced by MicroBT and Canaan after Bitmain’s Antminer S21 and T21 models were first stopped last year.

CBP seizes Bitcoin mining units for violating AI chip trade restrictions

According to reports, the CBP held the units because they contained AI chips from Sophgo, a chip firm that currently faces trade limitations. The broader examination conducted by CBP has seized extra Bitmain units, thus escalating government action beyond previous fall detainments. 

An affected company reported the seizure of equipment worth $5 million. On January 10, 2025, CBP sent this company a letter regarding the seizure of one “BITMAIN S21 PRO 200TH CRYPTOCURRENCY MINING MACHINE” at San Francisco International Airport.

The letter used US legal code provision 19 USC 1595a(c)(2)(A) to support the seizure because the equipment functioned as unauthorized communications gear while failing to meet FCC regulatory standards.

US customs crackdown disrupts Asian ASIC manufacturers

According to industry sources, almost all Asian ASIC manufacturers are now facing customs clearance problems. Bitmain, the world’s largest Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer with an 80% market share, is among those affected. 

The company relocated its manufacturing capacity out of China after the first wave of Trump tariffs in 2018. Meanwhile, Canaan and MicroBT have more direct relationships with the US market; Canaan is a Nasdaq-listed company, while MicroBT builds some of its products in U.S. factories.

Regulators increasingly focus on cryptocurrency mining hardware while enforcing American trade restrictions and communications rules. Industry participants pay close attention to the current developments because they affect how mining equipment enters and is distributed throughout the United States. 

In other developments, a blast in Bandar Puncak Alam city, Malaysia, has unearthed an illegal Bitcoin mining operation, uncovering another example of crypto-related power theft in the country.

A local resident asked for help after smoke and flames came out of a house on Lorong Cekara Purnama. After putting out the fire, investigators found a fairly sophisticated illegal setup of nine Bitcoin mining rigs, blower fans, and a D-link router all hooked into an unauthorized power supply.

The illegal mining setup adds to Malaysia’s growing problem with crypto-related power theft, a challenge authorities have struggled to address.

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