Bitcoin mining rigs lit in yellow and orange with a treasury-to-share-buyback visual

Canaan Sells Its Entire ETH Treasury and 54 Bitcoin to Fund Share Buybacks

By Isaac • September 9, 2026 3:26 pm • Comments

Canaan just made a capital-allocation move that cuts straight across the usual Bitcoin-miner playbook.

The Avalon mining-machine maker sold its entire 3,952 ETH position and another 54 Bitcoin in late August, raising approximately $13.9 million in cash. A portion of that money went toward buying back Canaan shares.

The sale goes well beyond a small portfolio rebalance. A public crypto company chose its own deeply discounted equity over part of the digital-asset treasury it had built on its balance sheet.

Trending: Strategy’s $250 Bitcoin Sneakers Sell Out—Without a Bitcoin Checkout Option

Canaan previewed the earnings release several days before publishing the results:

In its official second-quarter results filed with the SEC, Canaan said it repurchased approximately 2.8 million American depositary shares for about $2 million during the first half of 2026. It then bought another 13.6 million ADSs for roughly $5.4 million in late August.

That brought the total to 16.4 million ADSs repurchased for $7.4 million as of September 8. The existing program authorizes up to $30 million in buybacks over a 12-month period that began in December 2025.

The company said its market valuation understates the combined value of its crypto treasury, cash and mining business. Management described repurchasing shares as an attractive use of capital while Canaan continues looking for lower-cost power and infrastructure opportunities.

The company highlighted its results and management commentary in this official update:

The buyback followed a brutal quarter. Canaan reported $31.9 million in second-quarter revenue, down from $62.7 million in the prior quarter and $100.2 million a year earlier.

Its net loss widened to $97.6 million.

The quarter included a $25.3 million inventory-related write-down and reserve provision, a $9.2 million impairment on property and equipment, and losses tied to changes in crypto and derivative values. Product demand weakened as Bitcoin prices and mining economics came under pressure.

Even so, the operating business continued producing Bitcoin. Canaan mined 243 BTC during the quarter, held 1,915.5 BTC at June 30 and reported an all-in mining power cost near 4.3 cents per kilowatt-hour.

CryptoSlate focused on the tension at the heart of the move: Canaan monetized crypto after a heavy quarterly loss, but did so to retire stock rather than simply plug an operating hole.

Canaan was explicit that selling the ETH and Bitcoin did not represent a reversal of its long-term digital-asset strategy. The company still held a substantial Bitcoin position after the late-August sale.

The more interesting signal is what management believes is cheapest. When a miner sells liquid crypto to buy its own shares, it is effectively saying that each dollar can create more per-share value in the stock than it can sitting in the treasury.

That can work if the shares truly are mispriced and the underlying mining operation stabilizes. It can also become an expensive judgment if revenue keeps falling or liquidity tightens.

For now, Canaan has made the bet visible: fewer crypto assets, fewer shares outstanding and a much sharper test of whether management’s valuation call is right.

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