The fastest-growing market for Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips isn’t a hyperscaler data center in Virginia or a startup hub in San Francisco. It’s China’s black market, where banned processors are now fetching roughly double their official US price.
According to a Financial Times report published June 23, Nvidia B300 servers are changing hands at approximately 7 million yuan, or about $1 million, on underground channels inside China. That’s around twice what they’d cost through legitimate channels in the US.
The supply squeeze gets tighter
The price surge traces directly to a decision by the US Department of Commerce on May 31. New guidance effectively closed loopholes that had allowed high-end Nvidia chips, including the Blackwell and Rubin models, to reach Chinese companies through foreign subsidiaries.
Before these latest restrictions, the smuggling pipeline was already substantial. At least $1 billion worth of Nvidia AI chips were illicitly funneled into China during 2025 alone.
