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As per a latest report from Reuters, the U.S. authorities have recently begun returning Chinese-made equipment that was seized for cryptocurrency mining, as shared by two industry leaders.
Notably, cryptocurrency miners are high-powered computers that compete to solve tricky math problems. This process helps maintain the blockchain, the tech behind digital currencies, and miners are rewarded with new cryptocurrency.
“Thousands of mining units have been released,” said Taras Kulyk, CEO of Synteq Digital, a cryptocurrency equipment broker. Notably, at one point, up to 10,000 units were stuck at various U.S. ports. He also mentioned that some officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seemed to be against bitcoin mining and made life difficult for the industry.
According to Blockspace, U.S. Customs and the Federal Communications Commission began seizing certain bitcoin mining equipment late last year. Notably, some of the machines might have been held back because they contained chips from Sophgo, a Chinese chip company that is restricted from trade.
The release of an unspecified amount of cryptocurrency mining equipment is happening during a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and China, particularly due to the ongoing trade war and security concerns that have been raised by U.S. authorities. These concerns have been present since the later months of the Biden administration.
Ethan Vera, COO of Luxor Technology, noted that while some of the seized shipments are now being returned, the majority of them remain held. Both Vera and Taras Kulyk, CEO of Synteq Digital, shared that authorities had cited concerns about radio frequency emissions from the mining machines, which they dismissed, suggesting that the machines’ emissions were not a real issue.
This situation is part of a broader context of the U.S. government’s scrutiny of Chinese-made technology, especially in sectors like telecommunications and computing.
The U.S. has expressed security worries about foreign-made equipment, particularly from Chinese companies, fearing that they could be used for espionage or other malicious activities. As a result, the government has been imposing restrictions on certain tech imports, and these concerns have extended to cryptocurrency mining equipment as well.