U.S. Authorities Release Seized Chinese-Made Cryptocurrency Mining Equipment

DETROIT, March 5 (Reuters) – U.S. authorities have recently started releasing seized Chinese-made equipment used for cryptocurrency mining, as reported by two industry executives.

Cryptocurrency miners are enhanced computers with advanced chips that compete to solve mathematical puzzles, essential for building blockchains and earning new digital currency rewards.

“Thousands of units have been released,” stated Taras Kulyk, CEO and co-founder of Synteq Digital, a cryptocurrency mining equipment broker. At one point, around 10,000 units were stuck at various entry ports, Kulyk told Reuters.

“Apparently, some individuals in the CBP didn’t favor bitcoin mining and aimed to create challenges for the entire sector, which they accomplished quite effectively,” he added.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began confiscating certain bitcoin mining equipment late last year, according to industry publication Blockspace, which reported in November. Some of these machines were reportedly detained because they contained chips from the Chinese company Sophgo, which is trade-restricted.

The release of an unspecified number of units comes amid ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions and security concerns raised by authorities during the latter months of the Biden administration.

Ethan Vera, chief operating officer of Luxor Technology, cited that “some held shipments are being released, but it’s still a minority.” Both Vera and Kulyk expressed that authorities had concerns regarding radio frequency emissions from the machines, which they consider unfounded.

A CBP spokesperson acknowledged Reuters’ inquiry but did not provide an immediate response. The FCC also did not respond to the request.

Sophgo faced penalties in the closing days of the Biden administration for allegedly acting as a middleman between the high-end Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC and the blacklisted Chinese telecom company Huawei, as reported by Reuters in October.