The United States Senate has passed a new amendment under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that could reshape the global semiconductor and crypto mining landscape. The Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National Artificial Intelligence Act of 2026 (GAIN Act) mandates that U.S. chipmakers prioritize domestic clients before exporting advanced AI and high-performance computing (HPC) processors overseas.
Approved late Thursday, the GAIN Act represents one of the most aggressive moves by Congress to strengthen America’s AI and semiconductor autonomy. The legislation seeks to prevent supply shortages for domestic tech and defense companies while limiting the export of critical computing technologies to foreign competitors.
The first page of the 2026 NDAA. Source: US Congress
Under the act, chip manufacturers must prove that all domestic orders are fulfilled before applying for an export license. In addition, Congress reserves the right to deny export approval for the most advanced chips — including those used in artificial intelligence training and high-performance computing — if they are deemed essential to U.S. national interests.
“Over the past several years, U.S. firms have faced persistent backlogs in chip procurement,” policy group Americans for Responsible Innovation noted in a statement. “In late 2024, Nvidia’s Blackwell line was booked out roughly 12 months ahead — a delay that hurt domestic AI development.”
The GAIN Act was passed as an amendment to the NDAA for fiscal year 2026. However, both must still clear the House of Representatives and be signed into law by the President. This means the final version could be subject to negotiation, with no guarantee that the GAIN Act will survive intact.
A Blow to Global Crypto Mining
If enacted, the new export restrictions could severely affect the global cryptocurrency mining industry, which depends heavily on advanced chips and GPUs manufactured by U.S.-based companies such as Nvidia and AMD.
Crypto miners rely on access to high-performance chips to power their mining farms, and export restrictions could further disrupt the industry’s global hardware supply chain. The rules may also drive up equipment costs for non-U.S. miners and create hardware shortages across Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
“The GAIN Act could easily tighten access to next-generation GPUs for international crypto miners,” said Elliot Harris, a blockchain infrastructure analyst. “That, in turn, could shift the global hash power balance toward regions where hardware supply remains unaffected — potentially outside the U.S.”
The mining industry has already been reeling from trade wars and tariffs that have pushed up hardware costs and cut into profit margins.
Tariffs Deepen Miner Losses
President Donald Trump’s renewed 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, announced in April, triggered one of the steepest market corrections in recent years and added more financial strain to U.S.-based mining companies.
Crypto mining firms such as CleanSpark and IREN have already faced significant liabilities. In July, CleanSpark reported $185 million in tariff-related costs after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) claimed that some imported mining hardware originated in China. Similarly, IREN faced a $100 million bill over tariff disputes tied to its hardware imports.
The breakdown of the hashrate of Bitcoin mining pools by country. Source: Hashrate Index
Industry observers warn that these cumulative measures could make the U.S. mining sector less competitive globally. With foreign miners potentially gaining access to cheaper, untaxed hardware, the U.S. risks losing a share of the global hashrate — the total computing power dedicated to mining and securing digital assets like Bitcoin.
That scenario would undermine the Trump administration’s broader objective of transforming the United States into the world’s leading hub for crypto innovation.