From a $5 billion market cap to the brink of delisting: The darkest hour for the first blockchain stock, Canaan Inc.

In January 2026, the world's first blockchain concept stock is standing on the edge of a cliff.

On January 16, 2026, Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) announced that on January 14, it received an official notice from NASDAQ—because its American Depositary Shares (ADS) closed below $1 for 30 consecutive trading days, the company triggered the minimum bid price compliance review mechanism. According to NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), Canaan must ensure its share price remains above $1 for 10 consecutive trading days within 180 days (by July 13, 2026), or face delisting risk.

This is the second time Canaan has received a delisting warning within a year. The previous instance was in May 2025, when a strong rebound in Bitcoin's price temporarily lifted its stock out of danger. However, with the recent continued downturn in the overall cryptocurrency market, the company's stock price has plummeted nearly 30% over the past 30 trading days, with the latest closing price at only $0.79, and its market value shrinking to approximately $443 million.

Glory days: From "Pumpkin Zhang" to the first blockchain stock

Canaan's story was once a source of pride for China's blockchain industry. In November 2019, this company, founded by Zhang Nan Geng (known in the industry as "Pumpkin Zhang"), successfully IPOed on NASDAQ, becoming the world's first pure blockchain concept company to go public, gaining widespread attention.

Initially, Canaan's stock price was often below the IPO price, but with the crypto bull market at the end of 2020, its share price soared, reaching a historic high of nearly $40 in March 2021, with a market cap exceeding $5 billion. At that time, Canaan represented the "selling shovels" business model during the golden age of crypto—regardless of Bitcoin's fluctuations, mining hardware manufacturers could always profit.

However, the good times didn't last. In 2021, China's ban on mining, combined with the full-year bear market in 2022, caused Canaan's stock to continue falling. Even during the new bull cycle in 2024-2025, when Bitcoin's price doubled its 2021 high, Canaan's stock price declined instead of rising, and in April 2024, it first fell below $1—an almost unimaginable situation under the traditional "selling shovels" logic.

Industry upheaval: When "shovels" can't sell

Canaan's predicament reflects a structural crisis in the entire Bitcoin mining hardware industry.

In the competitive landscape of mining hardware, Bitmain has long held an absolute leading position, with Canaan maintaining second place until 2021. After 2021, MicroBT (Shenma Mining Machines) rapidly rose with better power efficiency, pushing Canaan to third place. According to a report by Intel Market Research published in December 2025, MicroBT's market share has reached 15%-20%, while Canaan's is only 10%-15%.

More severe challenges come from a comprehensive shift in industry narrative. Overexerted expectations of Bitcoin mining and increasing competition have led many mining companies to pivot toward AI computing infrastructure. In the current capital markets, the certainty of the Bitcoin story is clearly less than that of AI, and funds are pouring into AI-related companies. Canaan's customer base is shrinking—many miners are shifting to provide computing power for AI projects, directly causing demand for mining hardware to collapse.

Financial data reveal the harsh reality: Canaan's net profit has fallen from over $300 million in 2021 to a loss of nearly $250 million in 2024. The inventory accumulated during the 2022 bear market continues to be impaired, R&D expenses and operational costs remain high, yet market share has not effectively increased—under this triple blow, the once "shovel seller" is now struggling.

Failed AI transformation attempt: woke up early, arrived late

In fact, Canaan was not unaware of the crisis. Nearly a decade ago, the company began to explore AI chips. In 2018, Canaan launched Kendryte K210, the world's first commercial edge AI chip based on RISC-V architecture, mainly for edge computing scenarios, supporting AI vision and audio processing. Over the following six years, the company released three iterative chips, accumulating some technical strength.

However, the AI chip market has long been dominated by giants like NVIDIA and Intel. Although Canaan has technical highlights, it lacks ecosystem support and large-scale commercial demand. In 2024, its AI-related revenue was only about $900,000, while operating expenses accounted for 15% of the company's total—an imbalance between input and output.

In June 2025, Canaan officially announced the termination of its non-core AI semiconductor business and shut down its AI chip division. The company admitted in the announcement that it had been exploring the sale of its AI business since March 2022 but failed to find a buyer, ultimately deciding to abandon it to focus on crypto mining hardware and the North American market. This strategic contraction marked the complete failure of Canaan's diversification efforts.

Self-rescue: reverse stock split and business focus

Facing delisting, Canaan has indicated it will consider a reverse stock split—merging shares to reduce the total number of shares and artificially boost the stock price. This is not the company's first time using this strategy: in August 2025, Canaan implemented a 1-for-50 reverse split, temporarily keeping the stock price above the compliance threshold, but it fell below $1 again due to cryptocurrency market volatility.

While reverse stock splits can temporarily meet exchange requirements, they do not address the fundamental issues. Wall Street's opinions vary: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "Buy" rating in December 2025, believing Canaan is "undervalued" with a target price of $2.91; meanwhile, Wall Street Zen downgraded it to "Sell," arguing that reverse splits only delay the inevitable structural dilemma.

On the business front, Canaan is shrinking its scope and focusing on core areas. In Q2 2025, the company achieved revenue of $100.2 million, with mining revenue reaching a record $28.1 million, and Bitcoin reserves totaling 1,511 BTC; in Q3, revenue further increased to $150.5 million, with mining income of $30.55 million, and crypto holdings rising to 1,610 BTC and 3,950 ETH.

In hardware sales, in October 2025, the company received a large order of 50,000 Avalon A15 Pro miners, the biggest single sale in over three years, briefly boosting the stock price by 25%; in November, it completed a $72 million strategic financing round, with investors including BH Digital, Galaxy Digital, and Weiss Asset Management.

Additionally, Canaan is actively exploring commercial applications of mining waste heat. In January 2026, the company launched a 3MW pilot project in Manitoba, Canada, using the heat generated by mining machines for greenhouse agriculture; earlier, it signed a 4.5MW contract with a Japanese electrical engineering firm to use the heat for grid load regulation.

Macroeconomic chill in the cryptocurrency market

Canaan's difficulties are not isolated. In December 2025, Bitcoin treasury company Kindly MD also received a NASDAQ warning for its stock falling below $1; BNB treasury company Windtree Therapeutics was delisted in August 2025.

On a macro level, the cryptocurrency market showed signs of turbulence and consolidation in early 2026. As of January 26, Bitcoin's price retreated to around $87,300, a significant pullback from its previous high. The market's bearish sentiment has directly impacted the stock performance of mining hardware manufacturers—over the past year, Canaan's stock price has fallen 63%, far exceeding Bitcoin's own volatility.

It is noteworthy that during this cycle, Bitcoin's price repeatedly hit new highs, but mining hardware stocks continued to decline, contrasting sharply with the "rise and fall together" pattern of 2021. The market logic has fundamentally changed: the launch of Bitcoin ETFs allows traditional investors to hold BTC directly without exposure through mining stocks; meanwhile, the rise of AI narratives has diverted risk capital that previously flowed into crypto.

Conclusion: Pumpkin Zhang needs a new story

Canaan's current situation is a microcosm of the "实体业务" (real business) dilemma in the Web3 industry. For example, Yibang International, another Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer, saw its stock plummet from nearly $450 in 2020 to around $3, a drop of over 99%. For hardware manufacturers, a mature and fixed valuation model means that once the industry loses growth prospects, it can easily fall into a vicious cycle of "stock price decline → financing difficulties → R&D underinvestment → market share loss → further stock price decline."

Canaan still has a time window. The 180-day compliance period, $72 million in cash reserves, record-high self-mining revenue, and innovative applications of waste heat are all chips for a comeback. But the capital market needs a new story—under the current dominance of AI in venture capital discourse, simply "selling shovels" or "holding Bitcoin" is no longer enough to excite investors.

Pumpkin Zhang and his Canaan need to prove to the market: besides manufacturing miners, what role can they play in the next chapter of Web3?

What do you think about Canaan's prospects for self-rescue? Can a reverse stock split truly solve its fundamental problems? Feel free to leave your comments and discussions below! If you find this article valuable, please like, share with friends interested in crypto and US stocks, and don't forget to follow for the latest in-depth market analysis!