Bitcoin Mining Giant Canaan Sees Revenue Plunge 96%: BTC Sales Under Consideration

The company attributed the decline primarily to weakening demand for mining equipment and falling selling prices.

Meanwhile, revenue generated from Canaan's own Bitcoin mining operations reached $9.5 million during the same period. As a result, the company's direct mining revenue was approximately twice the amount generated from equipment sales.

Another notable detail in the financial results was the discrepancy between operating profitability and net income.

Despite reporting an operating loss of $42.9 million in the third quarter, Canaan recorded approximately $8 million in net profit.

Gains arising from the revaluation of cryptocurrency holdings and financial derivatives played a decisive role in explaining the difference. Therefore, the reported net profit does not necessarily indicate that the company's core operations have become profitable.

Company May Use Bitcoin Reserves for Share Buybacks

Canaan's board of directors approved a program authorizing up to $100 million in share repurchases on November 6, 2026.

Under the authorization, the company launched an initial $20 million share repurchase program on November 10.

According to Canaan's official announcement, the program will be implemented within a 12-month authorization period, taking market conditions and liquidity requirements into consideration.

Using cryptocurrency reserves to finance share repurchases is not an entirely new practice for the company.

In an official operational update dated October 15, Canaan disclosed that it had sold 3,952 ETH and 54.5 BTC, generating approximately $13.9 million in cash.

The same announcement stated that the company had spent $5.4 million to repurchase 13.6 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at the end of August.

However, the amount of Bitcoin that could be sold under the new program has not yet been determined.

Most of Canaan's Bitcoin Reserves Remain Committed

As of September 30, 2026, Canaan held approximately 1,875.5 BTC on its balance sheet.

Of that amount, 1,258 BTC had been pledged as collateral for loans, while another 100 BTC had been allocated to a fixed-term product.

The remaining 517.5 BTC was recorded as directly held cryptocurrency assets. At the end of the quarter, those holdings were valued at approximately $43.7 million.

Of the company's combined $72.8 million in cash and restricted cash, $50 million also supported a letter of credit associated with infrastructure obligations.

Consequently, there is a significant difference between the company's total asset holdings and the liquidity it can freely deploy for share repurchases.

Management has emphasized that buybacks will be carried out while taking working capital requirements and ongoing infrastructure projects into account.

Kriptofoni Analysis

Canaan's financial results illustrate how mining equipment manufacturing and direct Bitcoin mining operations can be affected by different economic conditions within the broader Bitcoin mining industry.

The company's potential use of cryptocurrency reserves to finance share repurchases signals a shift in its balance sheet management priorities. However, the fact that a substantial portion of those reserves is tied to collateral arrangements or other financial obligations could limit management's flexibility.

Since the timing and volume of potential Bitcoin sales have not yet been finalized, it is impossible to make a reliable assessment of the direct selling pressure they might create in the market. Going forward, Canaan's operational profitability and reserve management should be monitored together.