1 hour ago
The starring Bitcoin mining application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) manufacturer, Bitmain, which is based successful China, is reportedly nether probe successful the US implicit nationalist information concerns.
According to a Friday Bloomberg report, an unspecified US authoritative and six different anonymous radical acquainted with the substance said that Bitmain’s hardware is astatine the halfway of a national probe known arsenic “Operation Red Sunset.” The investigation, led by the US Department of Homeland Security, reportedly seeks to find whether the ASICs could beryllium remotely controlled for spying oregon to sabotage the US powerfulness grid.
US authorities antecedently investigated Bitmain-linked Chinese spot designer Xiamen Sophgo implicit an alleged concern relationship with US-sanctioned institution Huawei successful October 2024. This was followed by the US Customs and Border Protection Agency halting the delivery of thousands of Bitmain ASICs the pursuing month. Authorities only began releasing the hardware successful March this year.
Consequences for the US crypto mining manufacture could beryllium far-reaching, since Bitmain controls implicit 80% of the Bitcoin mining ASIC market, according to a Cambridge report. Chinese dominance successful the manufacture is adjacent much ironclad, with some Bitmain and the second-largest manufacturer, MicroBT, based successful mainland China, controlling 97% of the marketplace stock connected their own.
Mining hardware organisation by shaper chart. Source: Cambridge Digital Mining Industry Related: Bitmain to unfastened archetypal US-based ASIC spot factory: Bloomberg
In immoderate cases, investigators adjacent disassembled Bitmain ASICs to look for malicious capabilities, the anonymous officials told Bloomberg. They declined to accidental whether thing was found.
A Bitmain spokesperson told Bloomberg that it’s “unequivocally false” that the institution is susceptible of remotely controlling its machines. Instead, the institution typical claimed that it “strictly complies with US and applicable laws and regulations and has ne'er engaged successful activities that airs risks to US nationalist security,” and is unaware of the investigation.
Donald Trump’s tegument successful the game
Imposing restrictive measures connected Bitmain machines is besides apt to pb to consequences for US President Donald Trump’s family. In August, a Bitcoin mining institution backed by members of Trump’s family, American Bitcoin, acquired a fleet of 16,299 Antminer U3S21EXPH units from Bitmain.
Related: Bitcoin ASIC shaper Canaan pilots US production, exits AI business
The institution besides inherited “substantially all” of Hut 8’s ASICs. This includes the 31,145 Bitmain Antminers S21+ machines it acquired astir a twelvemonth ago.
In September, American Bitcoin announced that it has “preferential entree to next-generation ASIC compute infrastructure,” without explicitly citing Bitmain. US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings besides uncover that American Bitcoin “paid done the pledge of Bitcoin” with a “redemption play of 24 months from each pledge date,” presumption which The Guardian reports are unusually generous.
With Bitmain truthful ascendant successful the space, American Bitcoin is acold from the lone large US-based crypto mining institution that whitethorn beryllium affected by the findings of this investigation. The manufacture already got a sensation of what mightiness hap when, successful mid-February, publically traded mining companies successful the US felt the effects of commercialized tensions betwixt the United States and China done delays successful receiving shipments of their ASICs.
Magazine: Bitcoin’s semipermanent information fund problem: Impending situation oregon FUD?
English (US) 