US customs starts releasing Chinese-made Bitcoin miners after regulatory holdup

After detaining thousands of Chinese-made Bitcoin mining rigs for months, the United States Customs and Border Protection has started releasing some shipments, according to recent reports.

Speaking to Reuters, Synteq Digital CEO Taras Kulyk disclosed that “Thousands of units have been released” after as many as 10,000 miners were seized at various U.S. ports. 

According to him, detaining these rigs was a deliberate move from the CBP, driven by officials who “didn’t like Bitcoin mining” and wanted to make things difficult for the industry.

The whole situation ties back to rising U.S.-China tensions, especially over semiconductor technology. Bitmain’s Antminer rigs got caught in the mess after their chip supplier, Sophgo, landed in hot water with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Last October, officials flagged some chips linked to Sophgo inside a Huawei AI processor, raising alarms given Huawei’s long-standing U.S. sanctions.

Even though Sophgo denied any connection to Huawei, the Federal Communications Commission reportedly pushed for the seizures, claiming the Antminer models—specifically the S21 and T21—could violate U.S. regulations.

However, only a small portion of the detained miners have been cleared so far. Luxor Technology’s COO, Ethan Vera, said the reports are true, but only a “minority” of shipments have actually been released.

According to Vera, authorities raised concerns about radio frequency emissions from the mining rigs. Last month, crypto.news reported that the CBP had expanded its detentions to include mining rigs from other Chinese manufacturers like MicroBT and Canaan, citing similar compliance issues.

However, both Vera and Kulyk dismissed these claims as baseless.

The development comes as the U.S. government has been tightening restrictions on Chinese imports, with President Donald Trump’s administration imposing a 10% tariff on Chinese imports.

In response to these ongoing trade hurdles, Bitmain has been working to sidestep delays by expanding its production line in the U.S.