The Big Story 

Nvidia is navigating an increasingly tenuous relationship between the U.S. and China, as the company seeks to sell its artificial intelligence (AI) chips to both countries while they engage in a high-stakes race to dominate the technology. 

© Mahesh Kumar A., Associated Press

The chipmaker, whose graphics processing units (GPUs) are considered the backbone of the AI boom, has seen a meteoric rise over the past few years, becoming the most valuable company in the world and the first to cross the $4 trillion threshold. 

However, as the U.S. and China compete for control, its chips have become a key target, creating a complex balancing act for the firm.

“They’re doing a spectacular job of walking that tightrope right now,” said Stacy Rasgon, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research. 

“I hope they can stay up on the rope,” he added, praising CEO Jensen Huang for “doing a really good job of balancing what are some fairly opposing concerns from both sides. He’s been doing a good job of walking that line.” 

Nvidia’s chips have become highly sought after, as companies and countries alike race to develop AI. This has also made the chips a key chokepoint, as the U.S. seeks to limit China’s abilities to develop the technology. 

“The entire chip industry has been having to learn how to reengage with Washington after a couple of decades in which the products they sold weren’t seen as particularly politically sensitive,” said Chris Miller, an international history professor at Tufts University. 

“Over the past decade, that’s changed dramatically,” he continued.

While Nvidia isn’t the only chipmaker facing restrictions, it sits in a unique position as the dominant market player.  

“Nvidia’s the one that’s supplying the bulk of the merchant AI infrastructure that everything’s running on. Clearly, it’s imperative everywhere and probably doubly so in China,” Rasgon said.

“To the extent that China’s been building out their AI infrastructure, largely they’ve been building it out or desiring to build it out on Nvidia,” he added.

Check out the full report at TheHill.com. 

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, I’m Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

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Essential Reads 

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The Refresh 

News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:

Crypto Corner 

Warren details concerns with Senate GOP’s market structure bill

© Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is offering her two cents about the legislation put forward by Senate Republicans to create a regulatory framework for the crypto industry.

In a two-pager, Senate Banking Democratic staff laid out a series of concerns with the discussion draft of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act. Warren is the top Democrat on the committee. 

They argue the bill:

• Provides a “superhighway” for traditional securities to avoid the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) authority by creating the concept of an “ancillary asset.”
• Increases the risk of a finacial meltdown by allowing banks and bank holding companies to engage in crypto activities and bringing them within the “taxypayer safety net.”
• Fails to address illicit finance and national security risks, rein in “presidential crypto corruption” and provide investors with sufficient protections.

The draft market structure bill was released last month by Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).

It is the Senate’s first major effort to take up the issue of crypto market structure, which aims to give the industry more clarity by divvying up oversight between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The House passed its own market structure legislation, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act last month. 

The GENIUS Act, which created a regulatory framework for dollar-backed digital tokens known as stablecoins, was signed into law by President Trump after clearing both chambers.

Plus: A round-up of more crypto news from the past few days:

• The SEC officially ended its case against Ripple Labs, with both sides dismissing their appeals. The decision leaves in place a $125 million fine against the crypto firm and an injunction blocking XRP sales to institutional investors.
• A publicly traded tech firm is buying up large amounts of World Liberty Financial’s digital token. ALT5 Sigma plans to sell about $1.5 billion in shares to buy up $750 million worth of $WLFI.

Crypto Corner is a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.

In Other News 

Branch out with other reads on The Hill:

White House crypto adviser departs Trump administration

Bo Hines, a White House’s crypto adviser, announced on Saturday that he will be departing President Trump’s administration and going back to the private sector.  “Serving in President Trump’s administration and working alongside our brilliant AI & Crypto Czar @DavidSacks as Executive Director of the White House Crypto Council has been the honor of a lifetime,” Hines wrote in a post on the social media platform X.  “Together, …

Op-eds in The Hill

Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: