Canaan’s mining-rig revenue falls 96% as buybacks draw on crypto

By Tom Whitfield

Canaan, the Singapore-based maker of bitcoin mining machines, generated $4.8 million from rig sales in Q3 2026, down 96% from $118.6 million a year earlier. Total revenue fell to $14.5 million from $150.5 million, and the company said it may sell more bitcoin to fund stock buybacks.

Canaan reported the results on Nov. 10, and CoinDesk highlighted the buyback plan on Nov. 12. The plan comes as weak mining-equipment demand and aggressive pricing shrink the business that once supplied most of its revenue.

What caused the 96% decline?

Canaan attributed lower equipment volumes and lower selling prices to weak demand and intense industry pricing competition. Those forces reduced product revenue from $118.6 million in Q3 2025 to $4.8 million in Q3 2026.

The quarter-by-quarter figures show the scale of the contraction:

• Total revenue: $14.5 million, versus $31.9 million in Q2 2026 and $150.5 million in Q3 2025.
• Rig revenue: $4.8 million, versus $13.6 million and $118.6 million in the same comparison periods.
• Mining revenue: $9.5 million, versus $17.7 million in Q2 and $30.6 million a year earlier.
• Operating loss: $42.9 million, compared with losses of $69.5 million and $23.9 million.
• Net income: $8.0 million, compared with a $97.6 million loss and a $27.7 million loss.

Canaan’s own mining fleet produced 133 bitcoins and generated $9.5 million, nearly twice its hardware sales. The commercial result is straightforward: the company now earns more from mining with its own machines than from selling new rigs.

Why did Canaan report net income?

Canaan’s own mining operations generated $9.5 million from 133 bitcoins produced, nearly twice hardware sales. The company nevertheless recorded a $42.9 million operating loss.

A recovery in bitcoin prices toward quarter-end produced a $20.1 million fair-value gain on cryptocurrency and a $31.9 million gain on financial derivatives. Those gains lifted net income to $8 million.

CFO Jin Cheng said: “this non-cash gain is distinct from underlying operating performance.” The commercial takeaway is that reported profit did not offset the loss in Canaan’s operating business.

How will crypto fund the buybacks?

The board approved a $100 million repurchase authorization on Nov. 6, and Canaan launched an initial $20 million program under it. The company said it would repurchase stock more actively as funds became available.

Chief executive Nangeng Zhang said Canaan was keeping a long-term digital-asset holding strategy “while adopting a more flexible capital allocation approach, selectively monetizing cryptocurrency holdings to fund share repurchases.” The mechanism links asset sales to cash for repurchases rather than relying only on equipment sales.

Canaan held 1,875.5 bitcoins on Sept. 30. Only 517.5 were held outright, worth $43.7 million; 1,258 backed secured term loans, and 100 sat in a fixed-term product.

Cash and restricted cash totaled $72.8 million, including $50 million posted as collateral for a letter of credit tied to infrastructure contracts. In October, Canaan sold 54.5 BTC and 3,952 ETH for about $13.9 million, CoinDesk reported.

The practical takeaway is that the buyback depends partly on converting part of a long-term cryptocurrency reserve into cash. Most of the reported bitcoin holding was already pledged or placed in a fixed-term product, rather than held outright.

Why is Canaan planning a reverse split?

Canaan plans a 1-for-25 reverse ADS split effective on or about Dec. 4 to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid-price requirement. The new ADS would represent 375 Class A shares instead of 15, consolidating 25 existing ADSs into one.

CoinDesk said Canaan’s shares had fallen about 75% this year through Wednesday’s close. The split can lift the nominal price per ADS without improving demand for Canaan’s rigs or changing the company’s operating losses.

Can power projects change the trajectory?

Like other miners moving toward power and compute infrastructure, Canaan is developing a 1 GW project in Duval County, Texas, and a second 1 GW site in Zapata County. Its Texas project received a conditional “Studied Load - Firm” classification under ERCOT’s Batch Zero process.

The classification does not establish that the full 1 GW is operating or generating revenue. The filing provides no commissioning dates or operating output for either site.

Canaan guided fourth-quarter revenue to $18 million–$22 million. The forward test is whether revenue reaches that range while the two 1 GW projects advance under continued mining-equipment price pressure.