In line with a Blockspace report, federal brokers on Monday stormed the Lonestar Dream Bitcoin Mining web site in Pete, Texas, and headed straight to an ASIC restore heart run by Bitmain-related ADW Tech.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation unfolded at dawn and targeted on contractors who proceed to run anti-minor rigs on the 30 MW web site offered by Poolin lately.
Witnesses allegedly stated the assault regarded like a conflict scene. “Helicopters, snipers, armed males,” one supply informed Blockspace, “Describes an ice helicopter heading up earlier than Black Tahoe cavalry arrived on the scene.
The agent added, “Who will do that, who will do it.” There have been a number of establishments. The ICE, the FBI, Homeland Safety Survey (HSI), the Texas Public Security Company (DPS), and the U.S. Customs and Border Safety Company (CBP) all participated, in response to folks on the location.
Brokers detain ADW Tech Employees and seize paperwork
Legislation enforcement eliminated 12 or 13 employees, about half of the restore store employees, from the Pete facility after failing to show correct credentials. The identical supply stated ICE focused Chinese language residents and took everybody with them on an expired visa.
This RAID didn’t have an effect on different native operators reminiscent of Genesis Digital Property, which operates the 195 MW Bitcoin mine on Pyote, nevertheless it was not the topic of this motion.
ADW Tech is a Bitmain contractor and licensed Antminer Restore Store embedded in Lonestar Dream. The corporate's presence highlights how West Texas has change into a mining hub, drawing celebrities with low cost energy and huge land. The current sale of the location by Pullin nonetheless stays repaired by ADW expertise, the place federal scrutiny has landed.
This motion comes as US Bitmain-linked restore facilities face rising authorities consideration. The assault connects with an extended story that includes the Trump administration's dealing with of mining {hardware} imports.
On the finish of 2024, CBP started sporadically holding and seizing shipments of ASIC miners at US ports, typically sustaining them for a number of months and charging holding charges with out explaining the flag.
After Trump took workplace, a number of cargoes detained in 2025 have been taken into custody and commenced being launched within the second half of the primary quarter and early second quarter.
Officers stated they’re in search of a restricted AI chip for ASIC Miners' Management Boards, a semiconductor firm that shares Bitmain CEO Micree Zhan.
The US Division of Commerce is actively investigating the potential of Sofgo's sanctions violations.
