On March 30, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bill Cassidy introduced the Mined in America Act, a bill targeting one of the more overlooked structural risks in the U.S. crypto industry: the near-total dependence on Chinese-manufactured mining hardware.
The legislation has three main components. It would create a voluntary certification program for domestic mining facilities, direct federal agencies to help U.S. manufacturers build competitive mining equipment, and formally codify President Trump’s executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The Hardware Problem
The numbers behind the bill are stark. The U.S. currently accounts for roughly 38% of Bitcoin’s global hash rate, making it the largest single mining geography in the world. But 87% of the hardware powering those operations comes from Chinese manufacturers, primarily Bitmain and MicroBT.
That concentration is the central concern. Dennis Porter, CEO of the Satoshi Action Fund, which supports the bill, called it a “liability” rather than a position of strength. The argument is straightforward: controlling hash rate while depending on a foreign supply chain for the underlying hardware creates a fragile position, particularly given ongoing trade tensions.
What the Bill Would Actually Do
The certification program is designed to be voluntary. Facilities that opt in would need to transition away from hardware tied to foreign adversaries, a category that in practice means Chinese manufacturers. In return, certified operations would gain access to existing federal programs, including manufacturing support through the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
The bill avoids creating new spending programs. It works within existing structures, which may help it move through appropriations debates more easily than legislation that requires new budget authority.
The codification of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is notable largely because it shifts something currently dependent on an executive order into statutory law. Executive orders can be reversed by the next administration. A statutory requirement cannot be undone without congressional action.
What It Does Not Do
The bill does not mandate that mining operations switch hardware by a specific date. The voluntary structure means adoption depends on whether the federal support programs make domestic equipment economically competitive, which is not guaranteed.
Building a domestic ASIC manufacturing industry from scratch is a significant industrial challenge. Bitmain and MicroBT have years of specialized production experience and supply chain depth. Closing that gap requires sustained investment and time, neither of which the bill can directly create.
The bill also does not address energy policy, grid access, or the permitting friction that has slowed mining facility development in several states. Those remain separate battles.
Broader Context
The Mined in America Act arrives as the broader crypto legislative agenda in Washington is more active than it has been in years. The GENIUS Act established a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers. The CLARITY Act is working toward a more defined market structure for digital assets. The Senate voted to prohibit a U.S. central bank digital currency.
Mining, by contrast, has received less legislative attention despite its importance to network security. The bill represents an attempt to close that gap and connect domestic crypto infrastructure to the same national security and supply chain arguments that have driven policy around semiconductors and other strategic industries.
Whether it passes is uncertain. The voluntary structure may satisfy neither advocates who want stronger domestic requirements nor critics who see any crypto-positive legislation as premature. But the framing, positioning Bitcoin mining alongside other critical supply chain concerns, signals how some lawmakers now see the industry’s place in U.S. economic policy.
Lummis has said her final legislative priority is ensuring digital assets are built into U.S. financial infrastructure before her term ends in January 2027. The Mined in America Act is part of that push.