A previously undisclosed federal probe of Chinese mining giant Bitmain remains unresolved — and is now drawing tough questions from Capitol Hill that put the Trump family’s cryptocurrency business ties squarely in the spotlight.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for internal documents and communications related to Bitmain Technologies, the Beijing-based manufacturer behind a dominant share of the world’s bitcoin mining rigs. In a letter first reported by Bloomberg, Warren wants to know what the department has done to address “potential national security concerns” tied to Bitmain — and whether decisions were influenced by business relationships involving the Trump family.
What’s the investigation?
- The probe, reportedly known as “Operation Red Sunset” and led by the Department of Homeland Security, has been examining whether Bitmain’s ASIC bitcoin-mining machines can be remotely manipulated for espionage or used to disrupt parts of the U.S. power grid. Details of the investigation have not been publicly disclosed.
- The review began under the Biden administration and continued into the opening months of the Trump administration. Bloomberg’s November 2025 reporting indicates the investigation’s status remains unresolved.
Background on security worries
- U.S. security concerns about Bitmain predate Operation Red Sunset. A July 2025 Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded that Bitmain hardware “can be forced by the PRC to turn over data” under China’s national security law.
- In 2024, federal authorities ordered divestment of a mining operation near Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, citing significant national security risks tied to foreign-made equipment.
Why the Trump family is implicated
- The political heat stems from who’s buying Bitmain gear. American Bitcoin Corp., a miner co-founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. in partnership with Hut 8, reportedly signed an August 2025 contract to buy 16,000 Bitmain machines for $314 million, paid in pledged bitcoin instead of cash, according to SEC filings cited by Bloomberg.
- The company has since expanded aggressively: earlier this month it added another 11,298 machines, bringing its fleet to roughly 89,000 rigs producing about 28.1 exahashes per second of hashing power. Its bitcoin treasury is reported at roughly 6,900 BTC — about $462 million at current prices.
What Warren is demanding
- In her letter to Lutnick, Warren asks for communications and records that would show what the Commerce Department has done to keep national security decisions free from undue influence by firms connected to the Trump family. The request signals increased congressional scrutiny of how national-security reviews of critical crypto infrastructure are handled when politically connected actors are involved.
Why it matters
- Bitmain supplies the specialized ASIC hardware that powers much of Bitcoin mining worldwide. If such devices could be remotely altered or otherwise exploited, the implications span national-security risks, critical infrastructure resilience, and the integrity of a major global industry. With high-profile U.S. buyers tied to a sitting president’s family, oversight questions are likely to intensify.
Bloomberg broke the story of Warren’s letter and the probe’s status. (Featured image: Quartz; chart: TradingView.)
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