Canaan lands $72M backing from trio of institutional investors

Canaan Inc., one of the leading crypto mining companies, announced a new investment round from BH Digital, a division of Brevan Howard. The firm also tapped Galaxy Digital and Weiss Asset Management. 

Canaan Inc. attracted a $72M strategic investment from BH Digital, Galaxy Digital, and Weiss Asset Management. The deal was completed through the purchase of American depository shares, each representing 15 Class A common stock of the company. The deal did not include warrants, options, or other derivative instruments. 

Canaan is changing its capital markets strategy, aligning with the goals of the investor firms, announced the company.

“We are deeply grateful to Brevan Howard, Galaxy Digital, and Weiss Asset Management for their participation,” said Nangeng Zhang, chairman and CEO of Canaan.

“The investment will support Canaan’s continued innovation and growth across all areas of its business, reinforcing its commitment to strengthening the Bitcoin ecosystem through every phase of the cycle,” said Zhang.

As Cryptopolitan reported earlier, the legacy BTC miner and rig producer is now trying to join the AI trend with new types of data centers. 

Canaan taps funds with long-term outlook

The institutional ownership signals greater confidence in the company, as well as its long-term potential. Zhang noted that the purchase of common stock, instead of warrants or derivatives, reflects confidence in the company’s fundamentals. 

Canaan retains a relatively small treasury of 1,582 BTC, though it seeks more liquidity and capital to reduce reliance on raises or stock dilution. Canaan will also add high-return computing projects, moving beyond crypto mining. 

In October, Canaan also benefited from interest in its Apollo mining computers, securing an order for 50,000 machines for the US market. Canaan also operates eight data centers, taking up the model of small-cap computational operations, while making a bigger pivot into AI. As a smaller mining company, Canaan may be more volatile, with larger price swings. 

Canaan stock price declined in October

Following the deal announcement, CAN stock prices remained relatively unchanged. The stock traded at $1.11. 

In October, CAN rose to $2.05, coinciding with the rise of BTC. Canaan is still sitting between two narratives, combining crypto and AI influences. Canaan retains 9.3 EH/s in mining capacity, in addition to its computational device business. 

Canaan is still ranked 14th among the largest mining companies. The legacy rig producer and miner expanded in the past month, following the overall trend of mining firms. However, the shares fell by 14.62% in the past day, as BTC declined to $101,000. 

As of October 16, Canaan regained compliance with Nasdaq, after achieving a minimal bid price above $1 for its American Depositary Shares (ADS). The company has shown its intention to remain compliant and retain its Nasdaq listing, while operating out of Singapore.

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