US detaining Bitcoin mining equipment at border: report

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is suspending imports of Bitmain’s Antminer ASIC miners from ports across the country for up to two months, at the request of the Federal Communications Commission.

According to a report from Blockspace, the delays affected seven US-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies without response. The arrested models include S21 and T21 series miners.

CBP did not explain the reason for the detentions or provide a timeline for resolution. Some affected companies reported logging fees exceeding $200,000.

The seizures are reportedly not targeting other ASIC manufacturers such as MicroBT or Canaan, and are concentrated in West Coast ports such as San Francisco.

Border delay speculation

Industry speculation suggests the delays may be related to scrutiny of chips supplied by Chinese semiconductor company Xiamen Sophgo, which is under investigation for allegedly violating US sanctions, according to Blockspace.

Sophgo’s chips, including the CV1835, are reportedly used in select Antminer models such as the S19 and T21 series. Sophgo’s CEO, Micree Zhan, is also the co-founder of Bitmain, raising questions about possible connections to the investigation.

The Department of Commerce began investigating Sophgo after discovering a chip tied to the company in a Huawei device. Huawei has faced US sanctions since 2019 due to national security concerns.

While there is no confirmed connection between these sanctions and the detained Antminer shipments, sources speculate that the FCC and CBP are inspecting imports for restricted components.