The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is detaining bitcoin mining devices upon entry into the country at the request of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), reports Blockspace.
Confiscations of imported ASIC miners Antminer S21 and T21 from Bitmain began as early as autumn 2024. This is presumably linked to the use of AI chips from the Chinese company Sophgo, which is under trade restrictions.
According to CBP documents and sources from the publication, customs officials have now also started detaining bitcoin miners produced by MicroBT and Canaan.
One affected entrepreneur told Blockspace that his firm had $5 million worth of equipment seized at the port of San Francisco. The notification he received from CBP mentioned the detention of a shipment of 200 Antminer S21 Pro units.
The miners are “seized and subject to forfeiture” in accordance with the requirements of section 19 USC 1595a(c)(2)(A) of the US legal code, the letter states. The cited regulations pertain to unauthorized communication equipment and devices causing radio frequency interference that have not received FCC approval.
Taras Kulik, co-founder and CEO of Synteq Digital, confirmed that “virtually every Asian manufacturer of ASIC miners faces customs clearance issues.”
In December, Bitmain announced the launch of a production line in the US. MicroBT also assembles some of its miners within the country.