A cryptocurrency mining company connected to President Donald Trump’s family just made a move that’s got everyone in the industry talking. American Bitcoin closed a $314 million deal with Chinese manufacturer Bitmain this month. The purchase brought American Bitcoin 16,299 Antminer U3S21EXPH units, powerful machines that pump out 14.02 exahashes per second. For context, that’s enough computing power to put the company among North America’s heaviest hitters in Bitcoin mining. Deals like this do not happen every day in 2025, which is why people are paying attention.
Beat the Clock, Save Millions
The real story here isn’t just how much American Bitcoin spent. It’s when they spent it. The company did this ahead of the Trump administration’s tariffs on Chinese tech companies. They exercised an option to grab up to 17,280 application-specific integrated circuits before new import duties slam the door shut. Simple math: buy now at current prices, or pay substantially more later.
Washington and Beijing keep trading blows on trade policy, with the Trump administration determined to drag manufacturing back to American soil. There’s just one problem—companies like American Bitcoin depend on Chinese suppliers because that’s where the specialized hardware comes from. Nobody else makes it at this scale. So the tariffs might help American factories eventually, but right now they’re causing serious problems for U.S. businesses trying to compete.
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American Bitcoin plans to scatter these new machines across multiple big facilities. They’re keeping the exact locations quiet, but sources say the equipment will beef up operations at several major sites. Smart risk management aside, this purchase shows American Bitcoin thinks Bitcoin mining will stay profitable despite wild price swings and more miners jumping in every month.
Bitmain Does Not Blink
Bitmain saw the writing on the wall and acted fast. The Chinese giant controls about 82% of the global Bitcoin mining hardware market, and it is not about to let tariffs wreck its American business. Their solution? Build a factory in the U.S. by this year’s end. Florida or Texas will host the facility, and Bitmain is setting up U.S. headquarters while they’re at it.
Bitmain’s American expansion looks brilliant on the surface. They will manufacture locally, keep prices low for U.S. customers, and avoid the import tariffs. But whether this actually works remains to be seen.
Jaran Mellerud, who runs the Bitcoin mining outfit Hashlabs, is not very convinced about the tariff narrative. He thinks the whole policy could backfire spectacularly. “Price increases from tariffs could lead to a collapse in demand from American miners. Manufacturers will get stuck with inventory they can’t move domestically, so they’ll dump it overseas at bargain prices,” Mellerud explained.
Think about what this means. Mining operations would migrate to countries where everything costs less, precisely what the U.S. administration is trying to prevent. Critics say the policy drives up inflation without delivering results, potentially kneecapping America’s competitiveness in cryptocurrency for years.
What happens next matters. Will other big U.S. mining firms copy American Bitcoin’s strategy, rushing to stockpile equipment before tariffs hit? The coming months will show whether this was brilliant foresight or just expensive panic buying.
