Chinese bitcoin mining giants shift to the US amid tariffs and security scrutiny
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Chinese bitcoin mining giants shift to the US amid tariffs and security scrutiny")
A small toy figures and representations of the virtual currency Bitcoin stand on a motherboard in this picture illustration taken May 20, 2021. Photograph: (Illustration by Reuters)
Bitmain, Canaan, and MicroBT are restructuring global supply chains as crypto mining meets geopolitics
Three Chinese bitcoin mining hardware giants—Bitmain, Canaan, and MicroBT—are establishing manufacturing operations in the United States as a strategic response to escalating US-China trade tensions and rising national security concerns in the US.
This transformation marks a significant realignment of the cryptocurrency mining supply chain, one that could reshape the future of global crypto infrastructure.
Bitmain, Canaan, and MicroBT collectively control more than 90 per cent of the global bitcoin mining hardware market. According to Frost & Sullivan, the combined market share by computing power sold of the three firms has reached 95.4 per cent as of December 2023.
Despite China’s 2021 ban on domestic crypto activity, these manufacturers maintained global dominance by focusing on high-performance chips tailor-made for mining.
Canaan has taken steps to distance itself from Chinese oversight, relocating its headquarters to Singapore and reporting that 40 per cent of its 2024 revenue came from the US. Canaan’s VP Leo Wang explained that the US move was about both avoiding tariffs and reducing customer costs, but heavy investment was being held back due to the unpredictability of trade policy.
US tariffs reshape crypto supply chains
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The shift began after President Donald Trump, during his second term, imposed sweeping tariffs under his “Liberation Day” trade policy. The administration introduced a 30 per cent import duty on high-tech equipment, including bitcoin mining hardware, with an added 20 per cent on Chinese-origin imports.
To remain competitive in the lucrative US market, where more than 30 per cent of global bitcoin mining occurs, Chinese manufacturers are now moving production to American soil.
Bitmain, the largest mining hardware maker by sales, began US manufacturing in December 2024. Canaan followed in early 2025, launching pilot production lines in response to volatile tariff policies. MicroBT also announced a localisation strategy to avoid tariffs and get closer to its US customer base.
Reuters reported that Guang Yang, chief technology officer at Conflux Network, said, “The US-China trade war is triggering structural, not superficial, changes in bitcoin’s supply chains. This is a long-term shift.”
Security concerns persist despite US production
While manufacturing in the US may mitigate tariff impacts, it hasn’t solved the problems as national security concerns persist. Reuters reported that Sanjay Gupta, chief strategy officer at US-based Auradine (a domestic rival backed by Marathon Digital or MARA), warned that Chinese-made mining rigs pose cybersecurity and infrastructure risks.
“Hundreds of thousands of these rigs are now connected to the US electrical grid,” said Gupta. “It’s not just an economic dependency; it’s a strategic vulnerability.”
Bitmain is already feeling the regulatory pinch. Its AI-focused subsidiary, Sophgo, was recently added to the US Entity List, effectively banning it from accessing US technologies. While Sophgo is not directly tied to bitcoin mining, the designation underscores the broader suspicion US authorities have toward Chinese tech firms.
MicroBT and Canaan, meanwhile, are cautiously exploring US partnerships with data centres and energy providers while avoiding drawing undue regulatory attention.
Industry insiders warn that further scrutiny could expand to mining hardware manufacturers as part of a broader decoupling in tech infrastructure between the two nations.
A billion-dollar industry at a crossroads
The bitcoin mining hardware sector is projected to grow to $12 billion by 2028, making the battle over supply chains a high-stakes commercial struggle. As mining becomes more energy-intensive and reliant on specialised chips, the question of who controls the upstream hardware becomes increasingly critical.
This wave of Chinese firms relocating operations to the US is about more than tariffs; it represents a strategic realignment driven by economic, technological, and geopolitical forces.
As America pushes to assert technological independence in critical sectors, Chinese hardware makers are repositioning themselves to stay relevant.
The next few years will reveal whether the US can create a homegrown alternative to Chinese dominance or whether Chinese firms, through strategic localisation, will remain the major players in the backbone of bitcoin mining.
(With inputs from agencies)