Detailed narrative
Market Headwinds and Strategic Response
Q2 FY26 was characterized by a difficult environment for the Bitcoin mining industry, with Bitcoin prices fluctuating significantly and hash prices remaining low. Localized conflicts and tightening mining policies further impacted miner investment willingness. This led to a noticeable weakening in miner sales and intensified price competition due to elevated industry inventory levels. In response, Canaan tightened spending, strengthened cash flow and liquidity management, and continued organizational finalization.
Mining Operations as a Key Contributor
The company's mining operations played a crucial role, generating approximately $18 million in revenue, accounting for 55% of total revenue. This segment maintained a 20% gross margin (excluding depreciation) and covered direct operating costs. Canaan adjusted its deployed hash rate based on power prices and operating conditions, allocating resources to projects with better economics. The installed hash rate in non-JV projects was approximately 10.05 EH/s, with an average all-in power cost of 4.3 cents per kilowatt hour in June.
Project ABC Progress and Optimization
Project ABC remains a key priority, focusing on cash generation and long-term returns. In Q2, the mining machine upgrade continued with partner WindHQ, generating positive cash flow and maintaining efficiency. Installed hash rate at Project ABC reached 4.85 EH/s by the end of July, up 10% from March. The project provided valuable experience in operations, power dispatch, and fleet upgrades, despite a $4 million equity investment loss due to the retirement of older machines.
Advancing Power Resources and AI/HPC Ambitions
Canaan is actively advancing long-term, cost-advantaged, and expandable power resources projects in North America, maintaining confidence in securing gigawatt-scale load by year-end 2026. The company is exploring dual deployment strategies for Bitcoin mining and HPC, and is open to co-location or GPU cloud rental routes, depending on project specifics and partnerships. This strategy leverages Canaan's experience in evaluating power infrastructure and working with local partners.
Capital Allocation and Share Repurchases
The company's digital assets treasury reached a record high, holding 1,915 BTC and 3,952 ETH, valued at $112 million. Canaan actively manages its capital, comparing holding digital assets, investing in infrastructure, and share repurchases. In late August, the company monetized all Ethereum holdings and 54 Bitcoins, generating $13.9 million, and used a portion to repurchase 13.6 million ADSs for $5.4 million. Year-to-date, $7.4 million has been deployed to repurchase 16.4 million ADSs.
Product Development and Compute-to-Heat
R&D efforts focused on the A16 series, emphasizing cost-effective air-cooled and high-temperature hydro-cooled models. On the consumer side, Avalon Home products, which generated $1 million in Q2 revenue, are being prepared for mass production in Q3, targeting the winter heating season. The company also continues to advance energy utilization partnerships like compute-to-heat, with a Nordic project validating hydro-cooled equipment for district heating and 2 MW of equipment in operation for node-based heating projects.