Canaan can use crypto to buy back nearly 20% of its market value while its core business burns cash

Bitcoin mining machine manufacturer Canaan has opened a new funding channel for share buybacks, allowing management to sell part of its roughly $130 million digital asset treasury.

That lever could support per-share value, but pulling it would shrink the reserve available to a loss-making Bitcoin mining and hardware business.

The Aug. 4 SEC-filed announcement lets management use crypto proceeds under an existing buyback program. Execution remains undisclosed on both sides of the trade, from any treasury sale to any subsequent repurchase.

The program began on Dec. 12, 2025, with a 12-month ceiling of $30 million for ADS or Class A ordinary share repurchases. By May 19, Canaan had spent approximately $2 million to buy back about 2.8 million ADSs, according to its first-quarter results.

Simple subtraction puts the nominal capacity at about $28 million as of May 19. The Aug. 4 release left out the newer repurchase total, so the current unused authorization remains unknown.

At 2:55 p.m. EDT on Aug. 4, StockAnalysis data sourced to S&P Global Market Intelligence valued Canaan at $144.7 million. Combine the company’s approximately $130 million digital asset estimate at Aug. 3 prices with its separately reported March 31 cash balance of $43.5 million, and the gross sum reaches $173.5 million.

The total sits roughly $28.8 million, or 19.9%, above the intraday market cap.

The inputs come from different dates, and the calculation omits liabilities and asset restrictions. It offers a directional view of the discount, while a same-date net asset value would require a fuller balance sheet.

Canaan’s June operating update listed 1,915 $BTC and 3,952 ETH on its balance sheet as of June 30, including receivables and excluding customer deposits. The latest announcement leaves the asset and amount unspecified.

The liquidity tradeoff

Canaan had $43.5 million in cash against $106.4 million in current liabilities at March 31, down from $80.8 million in cash at year-end. It had also pledged 905 $BTC for secured term loans and placed another 100 $BTC in a fixed-term product.

Those March figures predate the June holdings, so current restrictions remain uncertain. They draw a line between headline treasury value and assets ready for immediate use, with April bringing about $42 million of customer-receivable collections.

Canaan’s May report recorded a $22.9 million first-quarter gross loss and a $54.3 million operating loss, with net loss reaching $88.7 million. Its $35 million to $45 million second-quarter revenue figure was in line with guidance, and coverage noted that the weaker hardware cycle was making the expanding treasury more central to Canaan’s valuation.

A well-timed buyback could improve per-share value, but each dollar directed to repurchases shrinks the reserve available for operations. Canaan’s working-capital needs and board oversight set the limit.