Bitmain Launches US Mining Line as Chinese Antminer Shipments Face Customs Scrutiny

• Bitmain is launching a new production line in the U.S.
• Beijing-based Bitmain reportedly controls 90% of the Bitcoin mining equipment market in the U.S.
• U.S. Customs previously blocked imports of Bitmain’s mining machines.

Chinese Bitcoin miner Bitmain has announced it is launching a new mining production line in the United States.

The move aims to speed up delivery times for U.S. customers and follows reports of the Chinese manufacturer’s hardware being detained by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

New U.S. Production Line

In a post on X on Monday, Dec. 9, Bitmain said the strategic move would provide faster response times and more efficient services to its North American customers.

“The first batch of ANTMINER S21 Pro units will be delivered this December, providing a significant boost to our partners’ mining competitiveness,” the mining firm wrote.

Beijing-based Bitmain reportedly controls 90% of the market for computers used to mine Bitcoin in the U.S.

This has put the company into the spotlight after the landslide Presidential victory of Donald Trump, who has repeatedly claimed he wants Bitcoin to be “mined, minted and made” in the U.S.

Bitmain Problems

It is possible that the move into U.S. domestic production is in direct response to Trump’s campaign against foreign imports.

As the China-U.S. trade war continues to wage on, Trump has promised to impose hefty additional tariffs on Chinese imports.

Talking to Bloomberg , Rajiv Khemani, chief executive of California-based Bitmain-rival Auradine, said there were many reasons why Trump could want to “challenge a scenario where there’s a single dominant company that is a Chinese company in this space.”

Khemani noted that national security concerns could be one of the reasons why Trump would challenge the company.

U.S. Customs Block

This may provide some insight into the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reportedly directing the CBP to block Bitmain shipments two weeks ago.

Despite no official reason being provided, the freeze was reportedly limited to the Bitmain’s Antminer S21 and T21 series, which mostly rely on Sophgo-produced chips.

Sophgo is currently under investigation for supplying chips to Huawei and therefore already on shaky ground with entering the U.S.

With Trump taking the presidential seat in January, it remains to be seen whether his historically tough stance against China will impact Bitmain and its U.S. customers.