Expert Predicts Surge in ASIC Miner Imports to the US

Amid a “tariff pause,” a short-term increase in the import of bitcoin mining equipment to the United States is anticipated due to miners’ concerns about rising duties. This was stated by Hashlabs CEO Jaran Mellerud.

Big news for miners ⚡️

Trump just initiated a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, meaning US miners will pay 10% tariffs instead of a minimum of 34%.

Paying 10% more for a machine is still substantial, but not detrimental.https://t.co/Jb6uHRYMnk

— Jaran Mellerud ?⛏️ (@JMellerud) April 10, 2025

On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs for trading partners. A minimum of 10% for all countries took effect on April 5.

For a significant number of partners, “reciprocal tariffs” were planned to be introduced from April 9. In particular, the rate increases affected: Malaysia (24%), Thailand (36%), Indonesia (32%), Taiwan (32%), and for China, it ultimately amounted to 145%.

The main assembly plants of the largest ASIC miner manufacturers are located in the first three jurisdictions. Taiwanese company TSMC supplies most of the chips needed for the devices, and Bitmain, which controls a dominant share of the equipment market (~80%), and MicroBT (~7%) are registered in China and partially conduct business there.

Industry experts described the effect of the planned tariffs as an “enormous” blow to the American mining industry. Before the planned tariffs took effect, miners rushed to bring previously ordered equipment into the US, overpaying for air charters from Southeast Asia. The cost of a flight soared to $2.5 million.

However, on the eve of the “reciprocal” tariffs taking effect, Trump announced a 90-day delay in their implementation. The basic 10% levy remained in place.

Mellerud called such a tariff “substantial, but not fatal.”

“Paying 10% more for installations than foreign competitors puts American miners at a disadvantage. It’s not enough to make cryptocurrency mining in the US unprofitable, but it increases capital costs and affects the viability of new investments in the long term,” he acknowledged.

For these reasons, miners will hurry to import equipment into the US in attempts to preempt potential future price increases, the expert added.

“Sudden, large-scale changes like these create uncertainty, making it difficult for capital-intensive industries such as bitcoin mining to plan and scale operations,” Mellerud emphasized.

Previously, the expert calculated the consequences of the tariffs announced by Trump for American miners of the first cryptocurrency. According to his estimate, they will lead to a 24% increase in equipment costs. The payback period for the latest generation Antminer S21 from Bitmain will increase to 23 months compared to 18 months for companies outside the United States.

The US share of the global bitcoin mining industry will likely decline due to the tariffs.

While the US will remain a major player, its dominance will fade, giving rise to a more globally distributed hashrate. pic.twitter.com/oBIYERSCyZ

— Jaran Mellerud ?⛏️ (@JMellerud) April 8, 2025

“The US share of the global bitcoin mining industry is likely to decline due to the tariffs. The country will remain a major player, but its dominance will weaken, leading to a more globally distributed hashrate,” Mellerud concluded.

The United States accounts for 35-40% of the computing power of the first cryptocurrency network.

During his election campaign, Trump called himself a “crypto president,” promised to make the US the “world capital” of the digital asset industry, and globally protect the mining sector.