Odaily News Bitmain Technology Co. Ltd. has recently experienced delays in shipping machines to U.S. customers due to increased scrutiny by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to multiple industry executives. The delays came as the U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted Bitmain’s AI subsidiary, Xiamen Sophgo Technologies Ltd., in January, accusing the company of “acting at the behest of Beijing to promote China’s goal of domestic advanced chip production.” Bitmain, which controls 90% of the market for computers dedicated to bitcoin mining, was already affected by Trump’s tariffs in 2018. “About three months ago, U.S. Customs began randomly checking almost all air-shipped bitcoin mining machines,” said Nuo Xu, president of the China Digital Mining Association. (Bloomberg)