[News] TSMC Reportedly Cuts Off Chip Clients Over Huawei Links; Bitmain Supply at Risk

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According to a Nikkei report, TSMC has halted shipments to at least two chip developers due to suspicions they were attempting to circumvent U.S. export restrictions on Huawei Technologies.

The two companies had ordered chips using TSMC’s advanced 7-nanometer process, and sources told Nikkei that the rising volume of these orders had raised red flags for the Taiwanese chipmaker.

Additionally, blockchain news outlet Block Tempo reported that this incident could have serious implications for the cryptocurrency mining industry. TSMC might opt to fully halt shipments to Bitmain or limit supplies solely to ASICs, potentially creating severe short-term supply chain challenges for Bitmain.

Sources in the crypto mining industry told Block Tempo that Bitmain previously placed a full-payment order with TSMC for custom chips, only to have the orders frozen and payments seized amid suspicions of violating U.S. sanctions. The new ANTMINER L9 models, designed for mining LTC, DOGE, and BEL, may be left undelivered.

Block Tempo reports that demand for Bitmain mining rigs is currently high, with minimum pre-order wait times of three months. If TSMC ceases supplies due to sanction-related issues, Bitmain’s entire ASIC supply could be at risk.

The same report notes that Bitmain and TSMC have a longstanding partnership, yet the structure of their relationship has created an intermediary model. Intermediaries buy large volumes of Bitmain rigs, dismantling and reselling the chips to other tech companies. It is highly likely that similar intermediary transactions are linked to the current Huawei case.

(Photo credit: Bitmain)