US authorities begin releasing some seized cryptocurrency miners, industry executives say

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

US authorities begin releasing some seized cryptocurrency miners, industry executives say

AJ Vicens and Raphael Satter
Wed, March 5, 2025 at 3:00 PM EST 2 min read

DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. authorities have in recent weeks begun releasing seized Chinese-made equipment used for cryptocurrency mining, two industry executives told Reuters.

Cryptocurrency miners – basically souped-up computers with advanced chips – compete with one another to solve mathematical puzzles, a process which helps build the blockchains underpinning the cryptocurrency world and earn rewards in the form of new digital currency.

-snip-

“Apparently there were some folks in the CBP that really didn’t like bitcoin mining so they wanted to give the entire sector a headache, which they did quite well,” he said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Communications Commission began seizing certain bitcoin mining equipment late last year, industry publication Blockspace reported in November. The publication said at least some of the machines may have been detained because they carried chips from the trade-restricted Chinese chip company Sophgo.

-snip-

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-authorities-begin-releasing-seized-200018286.html

[rampartd]

1. "giving the industry a headache?"

the industry needs a head amputation.

i really don't care if these computers solve the equation or not, and i don't want my tax dollars used to prop up a ponzi scheme.