U.S. authorities have in recent weeks begun releasing seized Chinese-made equipment used for cryptocurrency mining, two industry executives told Reuters. Cryptocurrency miners – basically souped-up computers with advanced chips – compete with one another to solve mathematical puzzles, a process which helps build the blockchains underpinning the cryptocurrency world and earn rewards in the form of new digital currency. “Thousands of units have been released,” said Taras Kulyk, CEO and co-founder of Synteq Digital, a cryptocurrency mining equipment broker.