Canaan Acquires Cipher Mining Stake in Texas Bitcoin Projects for $39.75 Million

Details of the Joint Venture Acquisition

Canaan announced on Monday that it has acquired Cipher Mining’s 49% interest in a joint venture comprising three West Texas bitcoin mining projects, collectively known as the ABC Projects. The projects are held through Alborz LLC, Bear LLC, and Chief Mountain LLC. Following the transaction, Canaan now owns a 49% stake in the ABC Projects, while the remaining 51% is retained by WindHQ, Canaan’s partner in the venture.

According to the company’s statement, the three sites provide 120 MW of power capacity and support around 4.4 EH/s of total operating hashrate. Canaan described the move as a “disciplined expansion” of its North American digital asset footprint and a key step in executing its broader energy strategy.

As consideration for the transaction, Canaan issued 806,439,900 Class A ordinary shares to Cipher. These shares are equivalent to 53,762,660 American Depositary Shares (ADS), priced at $0.7394 per ADS, for a total value of about $39.75 million. The newly issued shares are subject to a six-month lock-up period.

Strategic Shift Toward Energy and AI-HPC Integration

In addition to the equity acquisition, Canaan purchased 6,840 mining rigs from Cipher. These machines were originally acquired from Canaan in July 2025 and deployed at Cipher’s Black Pearl site, which is now being repurposed into an AI-HPC data center.

Canaan said the deal aligns with its transition from an “opportunistic, asset-light power approach” toward a systematic upstream energy development model. The new strategy focuses on direct U.S. power applications and on integrating bitcoin mining with AI-HPC colocation. The company aims to build a project pipeline capable of supporting substantial load by the end of 2026, potentially at a gigawatt scale.

Earlier in the month, Canaan reported a significant rebound in its fourth-quarter financial results, with revenue of $196 million, up 121% year-on-year and marking its strongest quarterly sales in three years. The company attributed this performance largely to increased mining machine sales. Despite the operational and strategic developments, Canaan’s Nasdaq-listed stock closed down 5.71% on Monday and has declined 41% over the past month, according to The Block’s stock price page.

FAQ

What exactly did Canaan acquire from Cipher Mining?
Canaan acquired Cipher Mining’s 49% interest in a joint venture that owns three West Texas bitcoin mining projects—Alborz LLC, Bear LLC, and Chief Mountain LLC—collectively known as the ABC Projects. It also bought 6,840 mining rigs from Cipher.

How was the acquisition priced and structured?
The consideration totaled about $39.75 million, paid through the issuance of 806,439,900 Canaan Class A ordinary shares to Cipher, equivalent to 53,762,660 ADS at $0.7394 per ADS. These shares are subject to a six-month lock-up period.

What capacity do the ABC Projects provide?
The ABC Projects offer 120 MW of power capacity and support around 4.4 EH/s of total operating hashrate, according to Canaan’s statement.

How does this deal fit into Canaan’s broader strategy?
Canaan stated that the transaction supports its shift to a systematic upstream energy development model, emphasizing direct U.S. power applications and the integration of bitcoin mining with AI-HPC colocation, with the goal of building a large-scale project pipeline by the end of 2026.