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Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, hosts Colin and Will dive into the ongoing saga of US Customs and Border Protection seizing Bitcoin mining hardware at various ports of entry. Initially targeting Antminer units in late 2024, the seizures expanded to include equipment from Whatsminer and Canaan, costing some companies millions in detained assets. The hosts explore how industry lobbying - particularly through Senator Lummis and connections to the Trump administration - has begun to resolve the situation, along with theories about why these unprecedented seizures occurred in the first place. Could this push more manufacturing onshore?
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
02:17 History of seizure trend
09:08 Lobbying the government for release
17:42 Follow on effects
20:13 Bitmain plans
24:20 Conspiracy corner: Evil or Entropy
Notes:
- $5 million worth of hardware seized from one company
- Seizures expanded beyond Antminer to Whatsminer/Canaan
- Detentions began Sep 2024, escalated to seizures Feb 2025
- Shipments being released after industry lobbying
- Sen. Lummis and White House helped resolve situation
- CBP cited unauthorized communications equipment laws
