Bitmain, Canan and Microbt, the three largest manufacturers of Bitcoin digging machines in the world, open their production plants in the United States, “reports Reuters. The agency explains that the reason is the customs war of President Donald Trump, which changed the cryptocurrency supply chain. Experts pay attention to safety concerns.
Bitmain, Canan and Microbt make up over 90 percent global mining platforms, mainly counting computers that produce bitcoins – the agency explains. Creating bases in the US could protect them from tariffs, but threatens to send fears about the security that the USA has with China in such different areas as chip production and energy security.
“Structural, not superficial changes in supply chains”
“The trade war between the USA and China causes structural, not superficial changes in Bitcoin supply chains,” said Guang Yang, technology director at Conflux Network, a cryptocurrency technology supplier.
– What's more, for US companies it goes beyond customs duties. This is a strategic turn towards “politically acceptable” sources of equipment ” – added Yang.
Bitmain, the largest company from this three in terms of sales, began the production of mining equipment in the USA in December. It was a “strategic movement” after Trump's victory in the presidential election a month earlier.
In turn, Canan, according to the information provided to Reuters by senior director Leo Wanga, began trial production in the US to avoid tariffs after Trump announced his so -called liberation day. He explained that the initiative is research, because the unstable tariff situation prevents large investments.
The third in the ranking of Microbt in a statement reported that “actively implements the location strategy in the US” to “avoid the impact of tariffs”.
The trio dominates in the sector, whose value analysts estimate at $ 12 billion by 2028. This is the beginning of a business chain that extends through the energy -intensive Bitcoins extracting process, supporting IT infrastructure and trade platforms.
Opponents of Chinese manufacturers of Bitcoin digging machinery in the USA
The American rival Auradine, supported by Mara Holdings, a leading mining company Bitcoins in terms of market value, lobbyed to limit China supplies to stimulate competition on the equipment market.
– Over 30 percent of the global Bitcoins mining takes place in North America, but over 90 percent of digging equipment comes from China, which is a serious imbalance between demand and supply in various geographical regions – stated the strategy director at Auradine, Sanjay Gupta, quoted by Reuters.
The consulting company Frost & Sullivan estimated that in December 2023 the three largest companies had 95.4 percent. Equipment market shares in terms of sold computing power.
“As for Chinese mining platforms,” hundreds of thousands of them connected to the American energy network “pose a threat to security,” Gupta added.
Caaan commentary
Leo Wang from Canan, referring to these allegations, said that mining platforms do not threaten safety because “they are useless if they are not used to extract bitcoins.” In addition, he added, producers may suffer “side damage” due to American restrictions on the sale of high-tech products to Chinese companies.
This risk was emphasized by the fact that the subsidiary of Bitmain, Sophgo, dealing with artificial intelligence, was placed on a black US government for security reasons.
Bitmain did not answer Reuters's request for comment.
“Attempt to reduce costs”
As Reuters explains, China once dominated the entire Bitcoin chain – from the production of drilling platforms, through mining, to trade – until 2021, when their government banned the activities related to cryptocurrency in continental China, referring to a threat to financial stability.
Copies, traders and stock exchanges then moved abroad. However, sheltered with their role of technology producers, Bitmain, Canan and Microbt still dominated the equipment. They replied Western rivals partly thanks to the advantage of the first player in developing high -performance chips adapted to digging.
Since then, Canan moved its headquarters from China to Singapore (although it still operates there), and also launched a pilot production line in the USA, where last year this market was responsible for 40 percent. revenues.
– The justification is an attempt to reduce costs for both us and our clients – said Wang. He added that the perspective of the tariff means that “we must examine all alternatives.”
This year United States They imposed the base duties on imports from many countries of 10 percent, as well as an additional 20 percent. for imports from China. They also stated that they could increase duties for Southeast Asia countries, in which Chinese manufacturers of drilling platforms formed assembly plants.
“Bottlenecks for miners from the USA”
President Donald Trump He declared, including the presidency, that he would be a “cryptoper president”, which will popularize the widespread use of cryptocurrencies in the United States. His son Eric Trump together with the Energy and Technology Company Hut 8 launched an American excavator Bitcoin to build a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
A friendly cryptocurrency of the president's policy, however, can only highlight the disproportionately large role in China in the bitcoin infrastructure, which can potentially expose the producers of drilling platforms to danger. As John Deaton said, an American lawyer specializing in cryptocurrency law, China's domination on the equipment market “creates bottlenecks for miners from the USA”.
“If China reduces export or manipulate supply … this may interfere with the stability of the Bitcoin network and influence users and investors from the USA,” DEATON commented.
– The largest miners according to market value – Mara, Core Scientific, Cleanspark and Riot Platforms – all are based in the USA, so excessive rely on equipment from China 'can be problematic,' said Ryan M. Yonk, an economist from the American Institute for Economic Research.
– Chinese manufacturers of drilling platforms can develop operations in the US, but in a short perspective American miners will continue to buy platforms from China and will feel higher import costs – said Kadan Stadlemann, technology director at Komodo's cryptoplatform. – But it's not about harming the industry. It's about forcing the long -awaited change – he added.
Source of the main photo: Canan