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The United States &nbsp;Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) is holding up the delivery of some Bitmain Antminer application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) at US ports of entry. Some US miners have been waiting for their Chinese mining equipment for two months already, according to a report.
<h2 id="charging-to-hold-up-deliveries">Charging to hold up deliveries</h2>
Seven unnamed US Bitcoin mining companies have reported problems with their shipments, Blockspace <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://blockspace.media/insight/officials-are-halting-bitmain-units-at-u-s-ports-industry-firms-report/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">reported</a> on Nov. 25. The ASICs are being held at several ports of entry and some ASICs have been held for two months already.
Bitmain Antminer S21 and T21 series ASICs — the latest models — are subject to the delivery freeze. The mining companies affected by the freeze said the CBP, an enforcement branch of the Department of Homeland Security, was acting on a request of the US Federal Communications Commission Agency.
One company said the CBP was charging a holding fee for 200 ASICs it was waiting to receive. The bill has exceeded $200,000, it said.
Another company said CBP Advanced Targeting Unit (ATU) personnel “at certain ports of entry related to the holds.” The ATU identifies high-risk travelers, cargo, and conveyances&nbsp;on behalf of the agency.
<figure>
 <img alt="Bitmain Antminer deliveries held at US ports by customs agency" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-11/01936526-4f95-7fa1-af8c-cd3fbcb2be39" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/blockspacepod/status/1861050557244272648" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://x.com/blockspacepod/status/1861050557244272648">Blockspace Media</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cipher-mining-buys-37000-antminers" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin miner Cipher buys 37K Bitmain&nbsp;Antminers for $99.5M</a>
<h2 id="a-tangled-web-of-sanctions">A tangled web of sanctions?</h2>
A company suggested to Blockspace that the delivery freeze was related to Bitmain-relate chip designer Sophgo, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmain-linked-firm-denies-supplying-ai-chips-to-huawei" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">which is caught up in</a> a US Department of Commerce investigation in October after chips like the ones it ordered in Taiwan were found in a Huawei AI processor. Huawei has been under US sanctions since 2019.
ASICs from other Chinese manufacturers are not being held by the CBP, according to the publication.
<figure>
 <img alt="Bitmain Antminer deliveries held at US ports by customs agency" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-11/01936527-dc42-7ccd-8ba1-9e46b7e90704" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 An Antminer S21 on offer from Bitmain. Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.bitmain.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.bitmain.com">Bitmain</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
The Bitmain Antminer T21 <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmain-air-cooled-bitcoin-miner" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">began shipping in January</a> of this year. China <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinese-bitcoin-miners-trojan-horse-united-states-crypto-infrastructure" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">supplies 98% of all chips</a> used in crypto mining. China-based Bitmain has set up offices in other countries to avoid tariffs and has been accused of dumping and price cutting to undermine US chip producers.
Chinese-owned companies also mine Bitcoin (BTC) in the United States since the Chinese government <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinese-regulators-unite-forces-to-crack-down-on-crypto" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">cracked down on crypto mining</a> in China in 2021.
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/china-crypto-ban-investors/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">How Chinese traders and miners get around China’s crypto ban</a>
The United States &nbsp;Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) is holding up the delivery of some Bitmain Antminer application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) at US ports of entry. Some US miners have been waiting for their Chinese mining equipment for two months already, according to a report.
<h2 id="charging-to-hold-up-deliveries">Charging to hold up deliveries</h2>
Seven unnamed US Bitcoin mining companies have reported problems with their shipments, Blockspace <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://blockspace.media/insight/officials-are-halting-bitmain-units-at-u-s-ports-industry-firms-report/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">reported</a> on Nov. 25. The ASICs are being held at several ports of entry and some ASICs have been held for two months already.
Bitmain Antminer S21 and T21 series ASICs — the latest models — are subject to the delivery freeze. The mining companies affected by the freeze said the CBP, an enforcement branch of the Department of Homeland Security, was acting on a request of the US Federal Communications Commission Agency.
One company said the CBP was charging a holding fee for 200 ASICs it was waiting to receive. The bill has exceeded $200,000, it said.
Another company said CBP Advanced Targeting Unit (ATU) personnel “at certain ports of entry related to the holds.” The ATU identifies high-risk travelers, cargo, and conveyances&nbsp;on behalf of the agency.
<figure>
 <img alt="Bitmain Antminer deliveries held at US ports by customs agency" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-11/01936526-4f95-7fa1-af8c-cd3fbcb2be39" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/blockspacepod/status/1861050557244272648" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://x.com/blockspacepod/status/1861050557244272648">Blockspace Media</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cipher-mining-buys-37000-antminers" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin miner Cipher buys 37K Bitmain&nbsp;Antminers for $99.5M</a>
<h2 id="a-tangled-web-of-sanctions">A tangled web of sanctions?</h2>
A company suggested to Blockspace that the delivery freeze was related to Bitmain-relate chip designer Sophgo, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmain-linked-firm-denies-supplying-ai-chips-to-huawei" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">which is caught up in</a> a US Department of Commerce investigation in October after chips like the ones it ordered in Taiwan were found in a Huawei AI processor. Huawei has been under US sanctions since 2019.
ASICs from other Chinese manufacturers are not being held by the CBP, according to the publication.
<figure>
 <img alt="Bitmain Antminer deliveries held at US ports by customs agency" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-11/01936527-dc42-7ccd-8ba1-9e46b7e90704" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 An Antminer S21 on offer from Bitmain. Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.bitmain.com" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://www.bitmain.com">Bitmain</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
The Bitmain Antminer T21 <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmain-air-cooled-bitcoin-miner" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">began shipping in January</a> of this year. China <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinese-bitcoin-miners-trojan-horse-united-states-crypto-infrastructure" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">supplies 98% of all chips</a> used in crypto mining. China-based Bitmain has set up offices in other countries to avoid tariffs and has been accused of dumping and price cutting to undermine US chip producers.
Chinese-owned companies also mine Bitcoin (BTC) in the United States, since the Chinese government <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinese-regulators-unite-forces-to-crack-down-on-crypto" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">cracked down on crypto mining</a> in China in 2021.
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/china-crypto-ban-investors/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">How Chinese traders and miners get around China’s crypto ban</a>

Bitmain Antminer deliveries held at US ports by customs agency

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