Bitcoin is moving: China’s Bitmain, Canaan and MicroBT are moving ASIC production to the US

The three leading manufacturers MicroBT, Bitmain, and Canaan, which are based in China and produce 90% of bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining equipment, are changing their production locations.

The ASIC manufacturers have resorted to radical changes to avoid the duties and sanctions that Washington has imposed on Beijing. The companies will set up facilities in the United States, which will allow them to diversify production. Guan Yan, Chief Technology Officer of Conflux Network, the only Tier 1 public blockchain platform approved in China, commented on the situation for Reuters:

Bitmain was the first to move into the US: production began in December 2024, after Trump won the US presidential election. Canaan launched trial production after Trump announced new tariffs for almost all countries. However, the company’s head of capital markets, Leo Wang, says that the move is still under investigation due to instability of the trade situation. MicroBT announced that it is implementing a localization strategy in the US, but has not yet provided any details.

According to the American ASIC manufacturer Auradine, 30% of the world’s mining takes place in North America. The company’s chief strategy officer Sanjay Gupta believes that Chinese mining devices pose a threat to US security, as hundreds of thousands of them will be connected to the power grid countries. China’s dominance in the industry makes American miners dependent.

Chinese exports are currently subject to 30% import duties, compared to the 10% basic for almost all, which may well justify opening production in the US. Also, some ASICs contain chips from Sophgo, a Chinese company under sanctions.