Author: Nancy, PANews

The U.S. Bitcoin mining industry is brewing a decoupling plan from China.

On March 30, a new draft called the "U.S. Mining Act" was introduced, aimed at promoting the expansion of domestic cryptocurrency mining in the United States, reducing dependence on Chinese mining equipment, and synchronously transitioning Bitcoin strategic reserves from presidential executive orders into the formal legal framework.

On one hand, this is repositioning cryptocurrency mining as a strategic layout for infrastructure and grid management; on the other hand, it is an important game around computing power amid intensifying Sino-U.S. technological competition.

97% of mining equipment relies on China, promoting domestic manufacturing of mining devices

“Digital asset mining is an important part of the U.S. economy, and we should mine domestically in the U.S. President Trump promised when he took office last year to make America the global center for digital assets, and we will not back down.”

The U.S. Mining Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy and Cynthia Lummis. This is not their first collaboration in the field of cryptocurrency legislation; they jointly promoted the modernization of the cryptocurrency tax system last September.

As one of the most active advocates for cryptocurrency policy in Congress, Lummis’ policy topics cover key legislation such as Bitcoin strategic reserves, the GENIUS Act, and the CLARITY Act, making this new proposal highly notable.

This mining act is not merely an industrial support policy but rather resembles a strategic layout around computing power and infrastructure, with the core goal of bringing cryptocurrency mining back to the U.S. as much as possible.

The bill proposes that the U.S. Department of Commerce will lead the establishment of a voluntary certification system, incorporating marginally regulated mines and pools into a standardized and compliant regulatory framework. Once certified, these mining companies will not receive new financial allocations directly but will gain legal status and be eligible to access existing federal energy subsidies and rural development projects.

This also means that cryptocurrency mining is being repositioned as a tool for grid management and energy development. Against the backdrop of many countries viewing mining as a high-risk or restrictive industry, the U.S. is attempting to transform it into part of the infrastructure through a compliance path.

However, the bill also sets a hard condition that certified mines must gradually phase out mining equipment associated with foreign competitors, with a direct target on China.

The draft bluntly points out that the U.S. currently controls about 38% of the global Bitcoin computing power, but about 97% of mining hardware comes from China. This is not technological leadership but rather supply chain risk.

To break free from foreign dependency, the draft further requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and manufacturing extension partners to assist U.S. manufacturers in developing secure and energy-efficient cryptocurrency mining equipment.

Currently, the bill has received support from the Satoshi Action Fund and is expected to be formally submitted to Congress in the coming weeks. It will subsequently need to undergo committee review, amendments, and voting by both chambers before it can be sent to the president for signing into law.

However, there remain uncertainties regarding the bill's smooth passage. As a key proponent of the policy, Lummis's term will end in January 2027, leaving a relatively limited timeframe for this legislative window.

Mining becomes a new battleground in technological competition, Bitmain under scrutiny in the U.S.

Amid growing demand for computing power and energy, Bitcoin mining is gradually rising as an important part of technological competition.

The U.S. has gradually become one of the largest Bitcoin mining centers in the world. Despite holding a considerable share of computing power, the upstream supply chain of the cryptocurrency mining industry remains highly concentrated in Chinese manufacturers. As tensions continue to escalate between China and the U.S. in trade, technology, and security, the U.S. has accelerated regulatory scrutiny of the cryptocurrency mining industry under the guise of “national security.”

In fact, as early as 2024, the Biden administration ordered the forced closure of a Chinese Bitcoin mining operation near a nuclear missile base in Wyoming, citing significant potential security risks that could be used for surveillance, espionage, or intelligence gathering.

Entering 2025, as the demand for AI computing power rapidly grows and many mining companies begin to transition towards AI infrastructure, this trend has intensified regulatory and geopolitical concerns.

As a top global mining equipment manufacturer, Bitmain has become one of the focal points of attention. At the end of 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection executed strict scrutiny on its Bitcoin mining equipment, suspecting violations of export control regulations related to Huawei, which caused some shipments to be held for more than two months or longer. In September last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a raid on a Bitcoin mining facility in Texas, focusing on the Antminer repair center operated by a Bitmain-associated company, ADW Tech, and arrested several mining facility employees.

According to Bloomberg, under the “Red Sunsetting Operation” led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bitmain's ASIC miners were listed as investigation targets, with a focus on assessing whether they could potentially be remotely controlled for espionage or to disrupt the U.S. power grid. This investigation reportedly began about two years ago. In response, Bitmain denies the allegations and claims to have not been informed of any investigation details.

Recently, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the Secretary of Commerce requesting documents and other information regarding the mining company Bitmain to review its potential national security risks. In her letter, Warren specifically addressed the business dealings between Bitmain and the Trump family, requesting disclosure of communications between Trump’s sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. and Bitmain.

It is reported that American Bitcoin Corp, a U.S. mining company supported by the Trump family, purchased over 16,000 mining machines from Bitmain for approximately $314 million last year. The transaction was not conducted through traditional cash or loan methods but was completed via Bitcoin staking for payment. Moreover, the two parties are also set to jointly develop a large data center in Texas, comparable in size to five football fields, expected to become one of the largest Bitcoin mining facilities in the world. This series of collaborations is seen as Bitmain strengthening its presence and penetration in the U.S. market through deeper ties with politically backed American mining companies.

In response, Bitmain stated that the related reports do not reflect the facts, and American Bitcoin claimed that its equipment underwent independent security testing, with no remote access vulnerabilities found, and that the company values compliance.

Incorporating Bitcoin reserves into law, clarifying the path of scale expansion

Another key change in the draft is the incorporation of the previously administrative order-based Bitcoin strategic reserves into the legal system, establishing it as a long-term mechanism within the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In March last year, Trump signed an executive order to promote the establishment of this reserve system. According to the original design, the funding source was not fiscal allocations but Bitcoin obtained by the federal government through criminal and civil asset forfeiture procedures.

However, executive orders are essentially tools for the president to exercise their executive power based on existing legal authorities. Although they take effect quickly, since they are not congressional legislation, incoming presidents can directly revoke, modify, or suspend related arrangements without congressional approval. This makes the Bitcoin reserves more akin to a policy arrangement with uncertainty.

If this bill is passed smoothly, the Bitcoin strategic reserves will for the first time gain explicit legal status, significantly enhancing their long-term stability and policy certainty.

On this basis, the bill also designs a sustainable reserve expansion mechanism.

According to the draft, income generated from staking and airdrops from other digital assets seized by the government will be used for the continuous purchase of Bitcoin; at the same time, certified U.S. domestic miners will be able to directly sell newly mined Bitcoin to the government and enjoy capital gains tax exemptions. This arrangement not only helps promote the return of the mining industry to the U.S. and expand the scale of domestic computing power but also provides a budget-neutral growth path for strategic reserves, avoiding reliance on large-scale purchases on the open market or financing through tax increases.

Overall, from domestic mining equipment manufacturing to compliant mining operation, and to a national-level reserve system, the U.S. is attempting to construct a complete mining ecosystem that fosters sustainable industrial development.

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