Canaan stacks Bitcoin, bucking rival miners’ rush to sell

Bitcoin mining company Canaan increased its digital asset holdings to record levels in February, signaling a long-term accumulation strategy despite challenging market conditions for miners.

In its February unaudited mining update issued Tuesday, Canaan said it produced 86 Bitcoin ($BTC) during the month, bringing its total holdings to 1,793 $BTC, a new record for the company.

Canaan’s Ether ($ETH) holdings also reached a record high of 3,952 $ETH, with the combined value of its digital asset treasury totaling roughly $128 million at current prices.

The company’s Nasdaq-traded shares (CAN) were up 1% in late Tuesday morning trading. Sector-tracking exchange-traded fund CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF (WMGI) was up 2.5%.

Chairman and CEO Nangeng Zhang said the company remains focused on a long-term strategy of building its digital asset reserves.

“We maintain a long-term perspective on building and managing our digital asset treasury,” Zhang said.

Canaan’s Bitcoin holdings over time. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET

Canaan also expanded its mining operations, with its installed hashrate reaching 14.75 exahashes per second (EH/s).

The update follows Canaan’s recent expansion in the United States. In February, the company acquired a 49% stake in three Bitcoin mining projects in West Texas for $39.75 million, a move aimed at increasing its North American mining capacity.

The Texas facilities are expected to boost Canaan’s presence in one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining regions.

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Miners ramp up Bitcoin sales as margins tighten

Canaan’s update comes as Bitcoin miners increasingly sell portions of their reserves amid worsening market conditions.

The trend has accelerated since October, when the biggest crypto by market capitalization peaked around $126,000 before falling by more than half to the low-$60,000 range, squeezing mining profitability.

The downturn has compounded what some analysts describe as the harshest margin environment the sector has faced, with rising operational costs and lower $BTC prices weighing on miners’ balance sheets.

Data from TheEnergyMag’s Miners Weekly shows that publicly traded mining companies have sold more than 15,000 $BTC since October. The total includes several large transactions, such as Cango’s February sale of 4,451 $BTC and Core Scientific’s plan to sell up to 2,500 $BTC this quarter.

Bitcoin miners have offloaded a growing share of their $BTC holdings since October. Source: TheEnergyMag

The shift marks a departure from the trend seen earlier in 2025, when many miners adopted a de facto treasury strategy, choosing to retain a larger share of the Bitcoin they mined rather than selling it immediately.

Related: Bitcoin mining’s 2026 reckoning: AI pivots, margin pressure and a fight to survive