Written by Ryan Weeks, Bloomberg
Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News
Bitmain, once considered a national security threat by the United States and embroiled in controversies surrounding mining machine security and remote control, is the absolute leader in the global Bitcoin mining machine industry. This mysterious Chinese company, after facing a White House ban and an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, unexpectedly formed an important business alliance with Eric Trump, the second son of Donald Trump.
On one side is a Chinese mining giant accused of jeopardizing power grid and military base security; on the other is a Bitcoin company owned by the US president's family. The two have built a super mining farm in Texas, initiating a major collaboration. This article reconstructs this alliance intertwined with politics and cryptocurrency, revealing how Bitmain defied the odds of being on the US "blacklist" and became one of the Trump family's most crucial business partners. The following is a full translation:
The Mining Empire: The Mysterious and Monopolistic Bitmain
From dedicated data centers in rural Texas to converted lumber mills in Borneo, rows of shoebox-shaped machines stand tall, emitting deafening roars that sometimes draw complaints from neighbors. Each machine contains hundreds of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), manufactured at great expense in advanced Taiwanese factories. These chips are soldered onto three enclosed computing boards, performing brute-force calculations, with all instructions issued from a control board. Depending on the specific model, the machines use built-in fans or liquid cooling systems to prevent components from overheating, and regardless of their location, they consume enormous amounts of electricity.
These devices serve only one purpose: to crack Bitcoin's underlying algorithm, SHA-256. SHA-256 is a so-called one-way function, meaning the only way to solve the mathematical puzzle it generates is through trial and error. Bitcoin miners make a living from this; once they calculate it correctly, they have the right to verify other people's transactions and receive a Bitcoin reward. Therefore, their profits depend directly on how many calculations these devices, known as "Antminers," can attempt per second: currently trillions per second. A top-of-the-line Antminer can cost as much as $17,400. Large mining companies own up to 500,000 mining machines, with initial investments reaching billions of dollars, but this capital expenditure is negligible compared to the potential returns, at least when cryptocurrency prices are high. Some users compare it to owning a row of lottery printers, only with a much higher probability of winning.
Antminer is Bitmain Technology's flagship product. The company not only dominates the Bitcoin mining industry, but for most of its history, it has practically been the industry itself, holding over 80% market share. Few companies can achieve such absolute control in a global industry: Alphabet Inc. in search is one; going back a few decades, perhaps De Beers, at its peak, controlled over three-quarters of global diamond production; even centuries ago, there were institutions like the Dutch East India Company that monopolized the long-distance spice trade. But unlike these historical monopolists, many aspects of Bitmain remain a mystery.
Bitmain mining machines at a mining farm in China in 2017.
The company is not publicly listed, and its official website does not disclose its global headquarters, CEO, or board members. The person most closely associated with it is co-founder Jihan Wu, who almost never appears in public and is no longer chairman. However, it is unclear when he stepped down, who his successor is, or even if there is one. Until recently, Bitmain's spokesperson consistently refused to clarify even the most basic information about the company's structure and governance, including the identities of its major shareholders. Due to the company selling multiple mining machines at different price points, its annual revenue estimates vary widely. An executive working closely with Bitmain, who requested anonymity, cited internal research to estimate annual sales between $2 billion and $3 billion. But even this figure is at best a well-founded guess.
However, two things are clear: First, Bitmain is headquartered in China; second, it has formed an alliance with one of President Donald Trump's children. Eric Trump, Trump's second son, is the co-founder and chief strategy officer of Miami-based American Bitcoin Corp., which went public in New York last September, at which time his stake was valued at approximately $548 million. (The stock price subsequently plummeted as crypto assets were sold off across the board.) Eric's brother, Donald Trump Jr., is also an investor, though the size of his stake has not been disclosed. American Bitcoin has stated its plans to purchase thousands of Bitmain Antminer mining rigs to eventually become the world's largest Bitcoin miner and has partnered with the Chinese company to develop a large data center in Texas.
This collaboration represents a dramatic turnaround for Bitmain. Just recently, it faced a potentially life-or-death challenge: escalating U.S. investigations questioning whether its equipment posed a national security threat. In May 2024, the White House ordered the removal of thousands of Bitmain mining machines from a mining farm near a U.S. Air Force nuclear missile base. Last year, a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence warned that the presence of Bitmain mining machines near certain military bases "posed an unacceptable risk." In November, Bloomberg News reported that, according to a U.S. official and other sources familiar with the matter, Bitmain had been the focus of a Department of Homeland Security investigation aimed at determining whether Antminer machines could be remotely controlled for power grid sabotage or espionage purposes. Sources said the investigation, dubbed "Operation Red Sun," began during the Biden administration and continued at least into the early part of Trump's second term, with both administrations' National Security Councils discussing the matter.
Bitmain did not respond to detailed inquiries regarding the potential security risks, but stated in a December statement that the company complies with all applicable laws and that reports of an investigation against it are "grossly inaccurate and constitute fake news." An American Bitcoin spokesperson stated that the company "adheres to stringent standards regarding national security, grid stability, and operational security" and "believes that as long as the mining hardware is deployed in accordance with modern industrial security standards, it poses no threat to the U.S. power grid or national security."
Irene Gao of Bitmain, photographed in 2025.
The progress of "Operation Red Sun" remains unclear, with the Department of Homeland Security telling Bloomberg Businessweek that it "cannot comment on ongoing investigations." However, Bitmain's partnership with American Bitcoin continues, and its aggressive expansion into the US market shows no signs of slowing down. In recent months, the company has become slightly more open to the public. For this report, Bitmain arranged an interview with its Global Sales Director, Irene Gao. She praised Trump's pro-crypto policies, saying, "It's a very good thing in the eyes of most of our customers," but avoided asking for simple information such as the names of key managers other than CEO Yang Cunyong. "We just don't want to disclose any information about the company in this way," said Irene Gao.
Security Shadow: US National Security Investigations and Containment
Aside from speculators seeking quick riches, the crypto industry has attracted two main groups since its inception: tech geeks and die-hard believers. The former are primarily focused on the computational and mathematical challenges of creating and trading digital assets; the latter are fascinated by the potential of these tools to transform global finance.
The two Chinese entrepreneurs who founded Bitmain belong to these two opposing camps. Jihan Wu, a chip designer by training, previously founded a startup developing set-top boxes. Jihan Wu was an investment analyst who later became obsessed with cryptocurrency; notably, he translated the original Bitcoin white paper from English into Chinese. Their collaboration began with a dinner in Beijing in 2013. Wu stated that he researched cryptocurrency on Wikipedia the next morning and subsequently decided to start a business with Wu. According to several individuals who had contact with the two but requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, they share some common characteristics: both are somewhat socially awkward, have maintained a low profile for most of their careers, and rarely appear in public or give interviews. Sources say they are both prone to irritability under pressure; Wu, with his deep, hoarse voice, was once seen loudly reprimanding employees in his office, the sound audible throughout the entire building.
When Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan founded Bitmain in 2013, Bitcoin mining wasn't yet dominated by giant data centers operated by publicly listed companies like it is today. It was a world where enthusiasts frantically chased the latest cutting-edge equipment. That year, Bitcoin broke $1,000 for the first time; the cryptocurrency was still in its infancy, and the vast majority of tokens hadn't been mined yet. At that time, better mining rigs could still significantly increase the network's hashrate, a metric for the computational power required to process transactions. As long as miners could acquire the most advanced mining rigs quickly, they could make a steady profit.
In 2017, Bitmain employees
Bitmain launched its first miner, the Antminer S1, in November 2013. By today's standards, it was extremely rudimentary, lacking even a casing, with the hash board and circuitry directly exposed. However, as one of the earliest ASIC-based miners and arguably the most powerful device at the time, it represented a significant leap forward compared to its competitors and propelled the industry's shift towards dedicated hardware. Subsequent generations of Antminers saw even greater advancements, with each iteration almost redefining the market: miners who didn't buy the latest model simply couldn't compete.
In 2017, the price of Bitcoin surged by over 250%, further driving up demand for Antminer mining machines. A private funding round in mid-2018 valued Bitmain at $12 billion. Its growth attracted widespread attention, and a new funding round in August 2018 even reached Jeffrey Epstein's desk. Communications between Epstein and his advisors released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January of this year revealed that the disgraced financier was eager to invest up to $3 million in Bitmain's holding company, but had some concerns about the transaction structure. The documents did not show whether this investment ultimately materialized.
Shortly after this communication, Bitmain submitted its IPO application to Hong Kong, disclosing revenue of $2.5 billion, a significant increase from $137 million two years prior. The prospectus showed that Jihan Wu held approximately 36% of the shares at the time, while Micree Zhan held approximately 20%, giving both a net worth of several billion dollars. Other shareholders included Sequoia Capital China, IDG Capital, and Coatue. However, betting their wealth on rising cryptocurrency prices also meant facing disaster when prices fell. As the market crashed again, the IPO plan was ultimately shelved. The entire industry entered the so-called "crypto winter," a prolonged period of price stagnation. Meanwhile, the partnership between Micree Zhan and Jihan Wu also began to crack. According to sources who requested anonymity, the disagreement stemmed from a strategic conflict: Micree Zhan wanted Bitmain to enter the field of artificial intelligence, repurposing chips for applications such as training facial recognition technology; while Jihan Wu, a staunch believer in crypto, opposed deviating from the company's original mission.
In late 2019, Wu Jihan attempted to gain full control of the company, and Zhan Ketuan was removed from his positions as Bitmain's legal representative and chairman. Zhan Ketuan subsequently filed a lawsuit in the Cayman Islands, where Bitmain's holding company is registered. A protracted power struggle ensued, culminating in a dramatic confrontation: a physical altercation at a government office in Beijing. Former journalist Hazel Hu witnessed this scene in 2020. She recalled that while Zhan Ketuan was waiting at the Haidian District Market Supervision Administration to receive Bitmain's paper business license, his supporters clashed with Wu Jihan's supporters, and the two sides began fighting over the documents. Police quickly arrived from a nearby police station and prevented the conflict from spreading downstairs and into the street.
The following year, Wu Jihan conceded defeat and resigned as CEO and chairman of Bitmain. (The dispute was eventually settled; Wu Jihan now serves as chairman of mining rig manufacturer Bitdeer Group and a crypto investment platform.) Despite the internal turmoil, Bitmain continued to expand, especially after Bitcoin prices rebounded in 2020. As the mathematical puzzle between mining companies and profits became increasingly complex, Antminer rigs became a necessity. "They are currently the most efficient equipment," said Vishnu Mackenchery, senior director of corporate development at Compass Mining in the United States.
Antminer being assembled at a factory in Shenzhen
At the time, Bitmain's sales were highly concentrated in its domestic market. Data from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance showed that China accounted for approximately three-quarters of global Bitcoin mining hashrate in 2019. However, in 2021, the Chinese government cracked down on the cryptocurrency mining industry, citing high energy consumption and carbon emissions. The result was a massive exodus of miners to regions with relatively cheaper electricity and more regulated environments—conditions particularly pronounced in parts of the United States. As a mining equipment manufacturer rather than a mining company, Bitmain was not shut down, continuing operations in Beijing and establishing distribution centers throughout Southeast Asia. But from that point on, its future would be determined by the United States.
Following the policy adjustments in China, Bitmain intensified its sales efforts to US miners and expanded into a side business managing mining operations for US clients. To create a more visible presence for the company in the US, it also relocated Irene Gao. Gao joined Bitmain shortly after graduating from university in 2016, and upon arriving in the US, she spent much of her time traveling between cities with her suitcase, promoting products to clients. Like much of Bitmain's information, sales figures and market share during this period remain opaque, but industry veterans say there is no doubt that it is becoming a dominant player.
However, the company was quickly affected by geopolitical tensions. During Trump's first administration, the White House imposed a 25% tariff on various Chinese-made electronic products. Bitmain began transshipping its products through Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, a common practice for Chinese manufacturers, but which U.S. authorities considered a violation of customs regulations. President Biden largely maintained these tariffs, and in 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspected a shipment of Antminer rigs destined for Connecticut-based mining company Sphere 3D Corp. After disassembling one of the machines, workers found tiny "Made in China" labels on internal components. According to Patricia Trompeter, then CEO of Sphere 3D, the shipment of 4,000 miners was detained for three months. Fearing further delays, some miners began diversifying their orders, shifting orders to competitors who already had production facilities in the U.S., something Bitmain had not yet done at the time.
The most serious suspicions against Bitmain are far more damaging than its attempts to evade tariffs: could its mining rigs be tampered with for purposes other than mining? Suspicions began circulating in the crypto community in 2017 when an industry media outlet reported that Antminer rigs contained code that allowed Bitmain to remotely shut them down. The company quickly confirmed the existence of this code but claimed its purpose was legitimate—to disable the rigs if they were stolen, similar to Apple allowing users to lock lost iPhones. Bitmain subsequently stated that it had removed the feature, but two years later, tech bloggers discovered similar code again; the company then released a security patch.
According to a person who requested anonymity and had access to confidential internal discussions, during the Biden administration, U.S. officials commissioned research to assess whether Bitmain mining rigs and other Chinese-made mining machines could pose a national security risk. The person stated that the investigation focused on two different directions: first, whether the mining rigs could be used for espionage. Cryptographic hardware experts believe that, given their highly specialized engineering design, this possibility is extremely low, if not entirely impossible; second, and more importantly for the U.S. government, the potential impact of remote shutdowns on the U.S. power grid.
When a large power-consuming unit (such as a steel mill) goes offline, it's usually a planned, gradual process, with power consumption decreasing over two days or longer. Bitcoin mining farms may consume similar amounts of power, but can be shut down in seconds. The source stated that U.S. officials are concerned that such "shock events" could cause a sudden imbalance between power generation and consumption, potentially disrupting power supply stability. The most alarming scenario is that China remotely commands the shutdown of thousands of Bitmain mining rigs located near military bases or other critical infrastructure relying on the same power source. "Anyone who hacks into an entire data center—whether it's for artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, or cloud services—could cause serious damage to the power grid," said Michael Bedford Taylor, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Washington, but he cautioned that Bitmain itself is unlikely to have any incentive to do so.
In the spring of 2024, the Biden administration publicly expressed security concerns about a mining farm near Cheyenne, Wyoming. Spanning 12 acres, the farm housed up to 15,000 mining rigs, mostly from Bitmain, installed by a company with Chinese ties. Investors hoped it would one day become one of the largest mining farms in the United States, benefiting from Wyoming's low land costs and abundant electricity resources. It was also conveniently located about a mile from Warren Air Force Base, one of the three bases where the U.S. Air Force deploys land-based nuclear missiles.
On May 13, 2024, Biden issued an executive order mandating the shutdown of mining farm operator MineOne Partners LLC. The document stated that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) had "identified national security risks." While not explicitly mentioning grid concerns, the order noted that risks included "the presence of specialized foreign-origin equipment that could facilitate surveillance and espionage." The mining rigs were quickly loaded onto trucks and transported away.
Political Alliance: Joining Hands with the Trump Family to Turn the Tide
This was a major and public setback, with the U.S. government explicitly linking Bitmain equipment to the possibility of at least malicious use. But just a few months later, the company began moving forward with a project that could completely transform its situation.
Bitmain mining farms in China in 2017
According to Michael Ho, a Chinese-Canadian businessman and Eric Trump's crypto business partner, a series of meetings that led to the president's son establishing a Bitcoin mining company began in late 2024. Like Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu, Michael Ho is a devout believer who boasted about mining his first Bitcoin before reaching legal drinking age in his teens. When he met Eric, he and his partner Asher Genoot were operating Hut 8 Corp., a Miami-based mining company and a major customer of Bitmain's Antminer mining machines.
Michael Ho recalls that the two initially met "through many mutual friends in Florida circles." He says their relationship quickly warmed after several meetings in and around Miami, including a discussion at the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter. Eric Trump, a longtime executive in the family real estate business, is increasingly involved in the crypto space. After previously calling Bitcoin a scam, his father embraced the industry during his campaign, promising at a Nashville conference to make the U.S. a "Bitcoin superpower." In September 2024, the Trump family launched World Liberty Financial, with a grand but rather vague vision of making "long-limited tools and opportunities available to everyone."
Initially, World Liberty Financial appeared to be a failure, with speculators largely ignoring its initial token offering. These tokens neither granted holders the right to share in the company's revenue nor could they be resold after purchase, completely contradicting the principles of traditional investment. However, the situation changed rapidly after Trump's re-election: the prices of various digital assets skyrocketed, and businesspeople hoping to gain access to the presidential family and resources poured funds into his numerous companies. The Wall Street Journal reported in February that Sheikh Tahmon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a key member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, agreed to invest $500 million in World Liberty Financial on the eve of the president's inauguration.
Last September, American Bitcoin co-founder and chief strategy officer Eric Trump and CEO Michael Ho gave an interview to Bloomberg Television in New York.
Michael Ho stated that convincing Eric to enter the mining industry wasn't difficult. "After face-to-face communication and getting to know each other better, we quickly hit it off," he said in an interview with Bloomberg News last year. In March 2025, the two publicly announced their complex plan. Just a month earlier, Eric and Donald Jr. had co-founded American Data Centers. Now, Hut 8 will acquire 80% of the company's shares, paying with mining rigs rather than cash or stock. After acquiring all of Hut 8's Bitmain mining rigs, American Data Centers will be renamed American Bitcoin. Presentations to investors claim the new company's goal is to "become the world's largest and most efficient professional Bitcoin mining company, while building a strong strategic Bitcoin reserve."
Just a few months later, American Bitcoin decided to go public, not through the information disclosure and rigorous scrutiny required for a traditional IPO, but through a merger with a small company, Gryphon Digital Mining Inc. This approach is commonly used by crypto companies and is generally approved by regulators. Michael Ho became CEO, and Genoot became Executive Chairman. Eric was responsible for business strategy, but his time commitment is expected to be limited due to numerous other business interests. An American Bitcoin spokesperson stated that Eric is "a core member of the company's leadership team."
This all ultimately led to an awkward situation. As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to ensure that Bitcoin was "mined, minted, and manufactured in the United States," while the Antminer mining machines that American Bitcoin relies on are entirely Chinese products. Just a year ago, the Biden administration had designated these mining machines as a potential national security threat, yet now they are expected to generate revenue for the two sons of the next president. Perhaps realizing these contradictions, and given the overall "America First" public opinion climate, Bitmain quickly announced adjustments to some of its business plans. Irene Gao stated that the company will establish a new headquarters and assembly line in Texas or Florida, and hire 250 local employees.
Bitmain's circuit boards
As these plans progress, Michael Ho downplayed security concerns about Bitmain's products. "It's been proven that these ASIC chips are programmed for only one purpose: to compute the SHA-256 algorithm," he said in a September interview with Bloomberg Television. He described the choice of Bitmain mining machines as procuring the most advanced technology: "Bitmain remains the most competitive and efficient."
Even with the most powerful equipment, Bitcoin mining is now more difficult than ever to make money. In the past six months, the price of Bitcoin has fallen by more than 40% to around $74,000 per coin, with approximately 95% of the fixed supply already mined. American Bitcoin's stock price has fallen nearly 90% from its September high, with a market capitalization of approximately $960 million. On February 26, the company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $59 million. Despite this, Eric's connection to the company continues to generate substantial profits for him. Filing documents show no indication that he invested a significant amount of money when the company was founded, but at current share price, his stake is worth approximately $75 million. If Bitcoin rebounds, whether driven by changes in government policy or other market factors, the value of his and his brother Donald Jr.'s stake is likely to rise significantly.
Bitmain is working with its customers to address allegations of security breaches. Months after the Biden administration ordered the removal of Bitmain mining machines near a nuclear missile base in Wyoming, U.S. mining company CleanSpark Inc. took over the site. The company quickly reinstalled mining machines purchased from Bitmain's U.S. subsidiary, with contracts stipulating that all equipment was "not from China" or any country subject to U.S. sanctions. In a statement, CleanSpark said it prioritizes national security and operates "entirely legally," adding that its operating agreement in Wyoming "was only finalized after approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)."
Meanwhile, American Bitcoin is expanding its partnership with Bitmain. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in September, the company disclosed plans to purchase over 16,000 more Antminer mining machines. The terms are unusual: the company will not pay in cash, but rather by "staking" Bitcoin at an undisclosed price. This is essentially an option structure, exercisable at any time within two years. Some industry experts believe this arrangement, especially the long exercise period, is extremely generous to American Bitcoin.
Another collaborative project between the two companies is taking shape in the Panhandle area of Texas: a data center the size of five football fields, potentially one of the world's largest Bitcoin mining farms. Bitmain and American Bitcoin co-designed the project, named Vega, which began operations in June. According to Michael Ho, the farm is equipped with new liquid-cooled Antminer miners.
Bitmain views American Bitcoin more as a partner than a mere customer. Last year, Irene Gao and Genoot attended the Bitcoin Asia cryptocurrency conference in Hong Kong. The two sat on stage with a large screen behind them showcasing the Vega project, reportedly costing $500 million to build. Gao claimed that Bitmain's latest mining rig, the S23 Hydro Antminer, had received over $1 billion in pre-orders. This practical gray miner costs $17,400. "These machines will all be manufactured in the United States," she said.
The following day, Irene Gao was interviewed by a reporter from BusinessWeek in a suite at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. She emphasized that the sale of Antminer and joint projects like Vega were just the beginning of Bitmain's collaboration with American Bitcoin. "We can work with them very flexibly, completely customizing to their needs," she said. "We deploy the mining machines in their infrastructure, either as a package for sale to our customers or to their affiliated companies." However, she repeatedly declined to answer more specific questions about the relationship between the two companies.
The topic Irene Gao most wanted to discuss was her optimism about the future of Bitcoin, especially Bitmain. She stated that her confidence stemmed in part from the growing popularity of such conferences. "You see a lot of influential people," she said, not only crypto enthusiasts but also representatives from the traditional financial industry. This included a heavyweight speaker the following day: Eric Trump. He was expected to ignite the discussion with an exciting prediction: Bitcoin's price would break $1 million, approximately 14 times its current level. "This is a good sign," Irene Gao said, commenting on the attendance. "It's a booming scene."
