The US Senate has made significant advancements in the realm of AI legislation through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), mandating that chip manufacturers prioritize US orders over international exports.

On Thursday, the Senate approved the Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National Artificial Intelligence Act of 2026 (GAIN Act) as part of the NDAA, which requires AI and high-performance chip producers to first fulfill domestic requests before exporting products.

Moreover, the GAIN Act grants Congress the authority to deny export licenses for high-end AI processors and requires licenses for any product that utilizes an “advanced integrated circuit.”

“Over the past several years, US firms have faced regular backlogs in purchasing chips. In late 2024, Nvidia’s Blackwell line was booked out roughly 12 months ahead,” according to the policy advocacy group “Americans for Responsible Innovation.”

The first page of the 2026 NDAA. Source: US Congress

Applicants will need to demonstrate that all US orders have been processed prior to the approval of an export license under the NDAA for the fiscal year 2026.

However, both the GAIN AI Act and NDAA still require approval from the House of Representatives and the president to be enacted into law. This leaves room for negotiation, casting uncertainty on whether the GAIN Act will eventually be law.

The impact of export restrictions concerning artificial intelligence and high-performance chips could adversely affect the crypto mining sector, which operates on a global stage and is already encountering economic challenges due to trade disputes, making the procurement of hardware more difficult.

Tariffs and Trade Conflicts Affecting Mining Industry

The reciprocal trade tariffs introduced by former US President Donald Trump in April caused significant price drops in cryptocurrencies and created more hurdles for the competitive nature of the mining industry. The production of crypto mining hardware is heavily reliant on global supply chains subjected to these tariffs, leading to elevated hardware costs and diminished profitability for miners.

For instance, CleanSpark, a mining firm based in the US, incurred $185 million in liabilities after the US Customs and Border Protection claimed that some of their ordered mining equipment was sourced from China.

IREN, another US-based miner, faced a staggering $100 million bill due to allegations regarding increased trade duties on their hardware.

Breakdown of Bitcoin mining pools by country. Source: Hashrate Index

The tariffs could also reduce hardware prices outside the US, placing domestic miners at a competitive disadvantage and potentially decreasing the US’s share in the global hashrate dedicated to safeguarding cryptocurrency networks. This decline in computational power could undermine the goal of making the US the leading hub for cryptocurrency.