U.S. Releases Thousands of Seized Chinese Crypto Mining Equipment : Report
According to ReutersU.S. authorities recently began returning equipment made in China for cryptocurrency mining, which was shared by two industry leaders.
It is worth noting that cryptocurrency miners are high-power computers that cannot solve difficult math problems. This process helps maintain blockchain, the technology behind digital currencies, and acquires new cryptocurrencies.
“Thousands of mining units have been released,” said Taras Kulyk, CEO of cryptocurrency equipment broker Synteq Digital. It is worth noting that at one point, as many as 10,000 units were trapped in various U.S. ports. He also mentioned that some officials from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) appear to be against Bitcoin mining and make life in the industry difficult.
According to Blockspace, the U.S. Customs and the Federal Communications Commission began seizing certain bitcoin mining equipment late last year. It is worth noting that some machines may be blocked because they contain chips from Sophgo, a Chinese chip company that restricts trade.
Release of unspecified cryptocurrency mining equipment is taking place during a time of increasing tensions between the United States and China, especially due to ongoing trade wars and security issues raised by U.S. authorities. These problems have existed since Biden’s administration.
Ethan Vera, chief operating officer of Luxor Technology, noted that although some seizures are now back, most of them remain. Synteq Digital CEO Vera and Taras Kulyk both said authorities cited concerns about RF emissions from mining machines, which they believe are not a real problem.
This situation is part of a broader context for the U.S. government’s review of Chinese manufacturing technology, especially in areas such as telecommunications and computing.
The United States has expressed concerns about foreign-made equipment, especially from Chinese companies, about them being used for espionage or other malicious activities. As a result, the government has been placing restrictions on imports of certain technologies, and these problems have also extended to cryptocurrency mining equipment.
