A federal investigation into Chinese language {hardware} maker Bitmain sits unresolved, its consequence unknown to the general public. That uncertainty is now drawing hearth from Capitol Hill — and placing US President Donald Trump’s household in the course of it.
Safety Probe Stretches Again To Biden White Home
Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Thursday, asking for inside paperwork and communications tied to Bitmain Applied sciences, the Beijing-based firm that makes a dominant share of the world’s bitcoin mining machines.
In response to Bloomberg, which first reported the letter, Warren needs to know what the division has carried out to deal with what she referred to as “potential nationwide safety issues” — and whether or not enterprise ties to the Trump household have formed any of these selections.
The federal probe Warren is urgent on is reportedly often called “Operation Pink Sundown,” although particulars concerning the investigation haven’t been publicly disclosed. Led by the Division of Homeland Safety, it examined whether or not Bitmain’s ASIC mining rigs might be remotely manipulated for espionage or used to knock out elements of the US energy grid.
The investigation was launched underneath the Biden administration and carried into the opening months of Trump’s present time period. Primarily based on Bloomberg’s November 2025 reporting, its standing stays unresolved.
The safety questions round Bitmain didn’t begin with Operation Pink Sundown. A Senate Intelligence Committee report from July 2025 concluded that Bitmain {hardware} “will be compelled by the PRC to show over knowledge” underneath China’s nationwide safety regulation.
A 12 months earlier, a federal assessment ordered the divestment of a mining operation close to Wyoming’s Francis E. Warren Air Drive Base over what officers described as important nationwide safety issues tied to foreign-made gear.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Picture: Drew Angerer/Getty Pictures
Trump Sons Spent $314 Million On The Identical Rigs Below Scrutiny
What sharpens the political fringe of Warren’s letter is who has been shopping for Bitmain {hardware} in bulk. American Bitcoin Corp., co-founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. in a three way partnership with mining firm Hut 8, reportedly signed a contract in August 2025 to amass 16,000 Bitmain machines for $314 million, paid in pledged bitcoin relatively than money. That deal got here from SEC filings cited by Bloomberg.
The corporate has since grown its fleet significantly. Studies point out American Bitcoin added one other 11,298 machines earlier this month, bringing its whole to roughly 89,000 rigs producing about 28.1 exahashes per second of mining energy. Its bitcoin treasury has reached round 6,900 BTC — value roughly $462 million at present costs.
Warren’s letter asks Lutnick instantly what steps his division has taken to maintain nationwide safety selections away from affect from corporations with Trump household enterprise connections.
Featured picture from Quartz, chart from TradingView
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