Looks like US Customs is seizing a bunch of BTC miners

So I came across this news about how US Customs and Border Protection is really ramping up their crackdown on Bitcoin miners. They’re holding a lot of them, mostly because some miners are using chips from Sophgo, a company that’s facing restrictions since they sold chips to Huawei. At first, it was mainly Bitmain miners getting inspected, but now it looks like they're checking out units from Canaan and MicroBT too. Oh, and just a heads up, TSMC has stopped all work with Sophgo because of this situation.

So the Bitcoin reserve was really just hot smoke after all. Don't worry, if this continues and the US CBP can't get their head unstuck from their ass, the miners will simply move to another country. It happened before when China kicked them out and they moved to the USA. And there is no reason why it can't happen again.

Given what Sophgo makes - custom RISC chips - my guess is that to save a few pennies BM may have used them to replace the SoC that historically has been from Xilinx et al. Simple solution is of course to go back to using chips from an 'American owned' company. Miners from Canaan all use their own Kendric AI SoC so unless they have also been used by a restricted company they should be safe. An odd part is that they are being seized under U.S. legal code provision 19 USC 1595a(c)(2)(A) which is enforced by the CBP and in this case triggered by the FCC filing a complaint with them regarding violation of radio emissions/EMI standards. THAT is not a surprise to me as miners *do* emit a fair amount of EMI but still must at least meet FCC's Class-A standards which cover commercial/industrial equipment.

Can anyone explain this to me? ASIC specifically designed to only perform SHA-256 operation. And while those ASIC have it's own computer and OS, there's no way it's fast enough to run AI.

It's not they are *running* AI - it is just the chip(s) in them, most likely the SoC used as controller, can be used for it. Canaan uses their own Kendric AI chip which is mainly designed for use in computer vision & AI apps the same way. No idea what MicroBT uses. Now regarding the FCC involvement & EMI: all miners should carry a certification ID number from a Recognized Testing Lab. So, unless said labs are suspect or BM is changing designs but trying to ride on older design certs - that is not permitted. Either way, equipment that does not meet the FCC's EMI specs has never been allowed to be sold in the US and yes will be stopped at the border. Considering that Canaan & MicroBT do not make nearly as many sub-models of the same miner as BM does, no idea there.

Liberal Economy, a system that government does intervene and dictate a lot of things while saying they don't. How long before they create a custodial bitcoin wallet like el-Chivo (el-Donaldo) and say that is the only way Americans are allowed to use bitcoin?

It looks like the future for Cryptocurrencies in The United States looks like a Shit Coin paradise anyway.  There is no hope in my opinion for a lot of pro Bitcoin stuff.  Many promises already flopped and The United States just recently had one of the biggest if not THE largest rug pull in the history of all presidencies.  I mean seriously.  Who still has hope for better? If you ask me.  This is not just bad news.  It may be a good thing if he takes at least temporary action to determine Miners to move from The United States to other countries.  It could strengthen the view others have on Bitcoin by proving even further that even if countries take action against it, there are others who can not wait to profit off that.  Which in turn determines the nations which chose to fight Bitcoin to change their mind as they are losing Money over a silly fight. The bigger issue is that negative action is coming from all ways almost.  It seems like the only guy who is truly happy about Bitcoin right now is Putin because he can avoid sanctions.  Other than him, all arrows point straight toward Bitcoin it seems.

Folks, please keep on topic... Before any Trumpolini bashing kicks in it should be pointed out that the seizures started last Nov before he was elected. Having a fair idea of how slow most gov actions are, plans for enforcement would have began several months before that. Yes chips from Sophgo/Sophon are an issue but Bitmains biggest offender would be their Antminer X5 that has a bunch of RISC chips from them but that is way off topic here.. (mines CryptoNight). Considering that is the FCC stepping in IMHO the issue is EMI compliance. Fact: All electronic devices that fall under the broad term 'computing devices' or contain radio circuits (eg WiFi) MUST be certified by a recognized compliance testing labratory and be labeled as such with appropriate Class-A (commercial/industrial gear) or Class-B (residential use) ID number. Very limited production gear is exempt but mass produced gear MUST be certified to be allowed entry and sale in the US. ref here I just looked at one of my Canaan A841's from 2018, a A1047, and my A1246 - no ID tags.... That is NOT GOOD! Methinks that Bitmain and MicroBT may be the same... I do believe that at one time early Bitmain Ants *did* have a cert tag but...

Operation Chokepoint 2.0 coming back from the dead? Remember when Biden attempted to tax the miners 30% but was shot down by the courts? This latest effort to suppress bitcoin operations will also fail. Having said that, it's about time someone started investing in domestic suppliers of mining equipment. To have to rely on a single source from China seems imprudent.

Well many  of the Whatsminers from MicroBT *are* assembled here in the US (Missouri) and Bitmain does as well (on & off). Being assembled here is certainly a plus but the miners still need to be certified for FCC compliance in order to be sold in the US. Chokepoint may have been the impetus behind the FCC actions but to me that is not the main point which is mandatory EMI testing of miners. Miner mfgrs ignoring the requirement was just long ignored low-hanging fruit to go after. As a retired electronics designer I fully acknowledge the need for the emission regs and if miner manufactures have been ignoring them then: a. They are lucky they got away with importing miners for so long. b. They will definitely need to redesign air cooled miners to meet at least Class-A (commercial/industrial gear) levels. Because liquid cooled miners have fewer and smaller holes in their case those will be easy to fix if they do not already meet regs. c. Meeting the more stringent Class-B levels (for residential use) will be even more difficult. Until they get their gear certified by a recognized EMI/EMC testing laboratory they are boned...

Future of cryptocurrencies in United States is uncertain. However this situation might have positive effect. It could encourage miners to move to other countries which could make Bitcoin stronger. This would show other countries that even if they try to restrict Bitcoin it can still succeed and those who fight it might lose money.  It is also important to think that different states in US have different laws and regulations for cryptocurrencies. Some states have clear rules for cryptocurrency businesses while others have not provided clear guidance yet. This uncertainty makes it hard to predict what will happen to cryptocurrencies in US.

Technically, because there are not country-wide regulations, yes. That said, I see the US as a leader in this as some good firm regulations *are* in place and many states (mostly those with ample power) *are* seeing advantages to it. The IRS has fairly clear rules and the SEC so far has been rather reasonable in their views and enforcement actions. I am unaware of any other country that is as friendly to mining nor as safe to setup mining farms in. This EMI regs issue CAN be fixed simply by getting the miners tested and if need be redesigning them. Period. Those already stopped & held at the border - sorry. Those may never be allowed in and the miner manufacturers should be held accountable for customer losses due to their willful negligence.

Interesting bit of information. The OP articles doesn't mention anything about environmental regs not being met. As I understand from the current reporting on this issue, the FCC wants to inspect each of the miners for potentially containing banned AI chips from Sophgos. The miners use chips from a variety of sources, most of which are not banned, per the articles. So only miners with this particular chip fails to meet the FCC regs? So apparently if the FCC finds they do not contain the banned chips they can then be released. Since the US ban TSMC no longer supplies chips to Sophgos.

They are not 'environmental' regs per se - they are regulations governing Radio Frequency Emissions that have been in effect for many many decades. ref https://blockspace.media/insight/cbp-ramps-up-asic-miner-crackdown-with-seizures-new-import-holds/ Part of that code requires ALL devices capable of radio emission/interference MUST pass FCC certification and carry a label stating that. Gear not having such documentation is not allowed to be imported/sold in the US and as such is subject to seizure by CBP. Gear made/assembled in the US must have the same FCC certification to be sold here. Period. As I've been saying, I'm dumbfounded that miner mfrs have apparently ignoring this and got away with it for so long.

Sophgo has only been recently banned, and just a limited number of newer models that may contain Sophgo chips are under scrutiny per your article. The vast majority of bitcoin miners are in FCC compliance.

As the FCC is asking: Prove it. Show the Certificate of Compliance issued by a recognized testing lab. Show the required label on the miner stating FCC Compliance for either Class-A or Class-B operation. I don't have any from Bitmain but none of my Canaan miners nor my Whatsminer M20's have the required labeling stating compliance. The FCC is not the org that cares about the Sophgo chips as the components used is not under their oversight. All the FCC cares about is radio frequency devices. The chips fall under a much broader set of rules that if anything falls under the Dept of Commerce.

There is nothing in your links about ALL the miners, just certain models potentially not being in compliance. I am going by what you posted.

previous years the only annoying delivery delay was each years chinese new year, which only cause delays for one batch period.. but if news is true we could see longer delays throughout the year which can cause a less progressive growth of hashrate.. lets see how this impacts later market growth potential of this years ATH

The links state that now miners from Canaan and MicroBT are also being targeted. Canaan uses their own Kendric SoC chip and MicroBT used or still uses the Xilinx SoC so that leaves EMI/EMC compliance as the only logical reason for the hold & inspections. My feeling is that the media just jumped on the chips as easy clickbait for headlines that requires no technical understanding. It should also be pointed out that the CE mark is *not* the same as a UL or FCC ID tag. While CE does mean that it meets European electrical safety and radio emission regs the standards, testing procedures, and labeling are different and the CE tag is NOT valid in the US. While a UL tag is not required for import into the US the FCC ID labeling IS required. example of properly tagged device Found a link to CBP actions here at forfeiture.gov In the pdf do a search for 'miner' to pull up a list of items and reason for the seizure. One result comes up as I found over a dozen such listings in the pdf before quitting. Doing a search online for 47 USC 302a(b), 47 CFR 2.1203, 47 CFR 2.1204 pulls up why the FCC is involved In short those regs regulate devices that (can/may) interfere with radio reception bringing us back to the fact that the miners have not been tested to prove they conform to FCC regulations and so do NOT have the required FCC certification needed for them to be imported into the US. The regs cover proven EMI/EMC compliance - NOT what components are in the devices. FYI: 19 USC 1481, 19 USC 1484 covers the Invoice documentation eg, proper description of the goods, price paid and how (which technically must be either in gold, silver, or paper (fiat). go fig), where it was made, etc. Again, just because they *may* have been tested to carry the European CE mark means nothing. The FCC regs were in place long before the EU even existed. The gear MUST pass FCC certifications with the testing performed by a Recognized Testing Laboratory and be assigned a FCC ID number to be imported into the US & sold here. That explains why ALL miners from Bitmain, Canaan, MicroBT et al are subject to the increased enforcement actions. The main 'gotcha' re getting the CE mark and why the FCC is being such a hard ass over this point is this from here: In short the manufacturer says it passes. Unlike getting a FCC ID# (or a UL listing) the manufacturer decides if the devices (miners) do not cause radio interference - no actual testing is required to prove it. However from that same link: To me that means that if there is a chance that a device could generate EMI you damn well better get it tested using a recognized testing facility to be able to prove it passes all requirements. Of course if the gear *is* tested for CE compliance then it would make sense to also do the FCC testing at the same time. I've taken part in what is involved and for something as simple & compact as a miner it does not cost that much (assuming you pass the 1st time). Around 15k USD would cover it for each model tested and that includes the FCC registration fees once you pass. The fact that the manufacturers did not get FCC certification certainly raises a question about the CE mark EMI/EMC compliance... Wanna bet that the EU authorities take note of the FCC's actions and start asking for proof of actual EMI/EMC level numbers as well? [moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

Dang, the CBP have been busy... Looking through the pdf I linked to, from items seized at SFO:That is a LOT of miners and a huge chunk of change!  576 miners worth $2,621,843.14 to be precise. I hope Bitmain has followed the rules governing what happens - within 30 DAYS pay $5,000 per seizure event to hold for dispute or if the hold bond is not paid, DISPOSAL/DESTRUCTION OF THE MINERS.