Bitcoin Miner Cango Dumps $305 Million in BTC to Fuel AI Pivot

In brief

• Bitcoin miner Cango (CANG) sold 4,451 BTC or about $305 million worth this weekend.
• The firm used the proceeds to repay a BTC-backed loan and clean its balance sheet as it expands into AI.
• Shares are down around nearly 3% on the day, and 62% over the last six months.

Publicly traded Bitcoin miner Cango (CANG) parted ways with 4,451 BTC this weekend, raising approximately $305 million as it aims to fuel its expansion into providing compute power for the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The firm used all of the proceeds to repay a portion of a Bitcoin-collateralized loan.  “The company is executing a strategic pivot by utilizing its globally accessed, grid-connected infrastructure to provide distributed compute capacity for the AI industry,” Cango said in a statement.  

In addition to the sale, the firm also announced Jack Jin, formerly of video conferencing software firm Zoom, as its new CTO to help build out its AI business line.  Shares in the Dallas-based mining firm are down nearly 3% following the news, recently changing hands below $0.95. Shares have fallen 62% in the last six months.  While other publicly traded Bitcoin miners, like Bitfarms, have signaled a complete departure from mining, Cango intends to continue using resources to mine Bitcoin alongside its growing AI compute business. “Cango remains committed to its mining operations, with a continued focus on enhancing mining economics and seeking an optimal balance between hashrate scale and operational efficiency,” the firm’s announcement reads. “The company will be guided by a disciplined framework for asset allocation in pursuit of long-term value creation.”

The firm, which says it operates over 40 sites across four distinct geographic regions, mined nearly 500 BTC in January, according to its most recent monthly production update. It also sold 550 BTC or about $39 million worth of BTC during the month, leaving it with 7,474.6 BTC or about $528 million worth at the close of January.  At the time of the sale, Cango CEO Paul Yu telegraphed that the firm would be offloading more Bitcoin in the future. “Starting this month, we will selectively sell a portion of newly mined Bitcoin to support the expansion of our inference platform and other near-term growth initiatives,” said Yu in a statement. “This tactical flexibility will allow us to seize new business opportunities and manage our liquidity with greater agility." A representative for the firm did not immediately respond to _Decrypt’s _request for comment.  Bitcoin is down around 0.2% in the last 24 hours, recently changing hands at $70,727. The top crypto asset is down nearly 10% in the last week and is 44% off its October all-time high of $126,080, though it has partially recovered since dipping to nearly $60,000 last week.