TLDR:
- Cango operated at 34.55 EH/s in February, running 30% below its 50 EH/s installed capacity
- Bitcoin hashprice dropped to the low-$30 range, squeezing miners with costs near $40/PH/s daily
- Cango sold 4,616 BTC in February — over ten times its monthly production — to cut loan exposure
- The asset-light Bitmain colocation model enabled fast scaling but left Cango exposed to high hosting fees
Cango ran its Bitcoin mining fleet at 30% below installed capacity in February. The company’s average operating hashrate reached 34.55 EH/s against 50 EH/s of deployed capacity.
Industry hashprice has fallen below $40/PH/s per day and stayed largely in the low-$30 range. The firm attributed the output gap to fleet optimization and ongoing equipment relocation efforts.
Cango is renegotiating hosting agreements and migrating to lower-cost power regions to manage expenses.
Fleet Restructuring Weighs on February Hashrate
The shortfall between the company’s deployed and operating hashrate stems from temporary downtime during restructuring.
The firm is upgrading equipment and divesting certain rigs while renegotiating hosting contracts. These steps aim to reduce the cost exposure that has widened as hashprice falls. Moving to regions with lower electricity costs remains a core element of the plan.
Cango built its 50 EH/s capacity through an asset-light colocation model at Bitmain-operated sites. The setup involved purchasing large volumes of on-rack Antminer S19 XP machines from Bitmain.
That model allowed rapid scaling without constructing proprietary data centers. However, it exposed the company to hosting costs that are difficult to justify near breakeven revenue levels.
The fleet hashcost has historically hovered around $40/PH/s per day. With hashprice largely in the low-$30 range, that margin is now razor-thin. Addressing hosting fees through renegotiation and relocation has become a top operational priority.
The miner produced 454.83 BTC in February despite running well under its installed capacity. Fleet repositioning is expected to reduce operating costs and improve margins going forward.
Completing the renegotiation and relocation work will be critical to longer-term operational stability.
Cango Liquidates Over 4,600 BTC to Reduce Loan Exposure
Cango moved aggressively to strengthen its balance sheet as market conditions deteriorated in February. The company sold a total of 4,616 BTC during the month, far exceeding its monthly production.
That figure is over ten times what the firm produced during the same period. The selling pressure was driven primarily by the need to reduce outstanding loan obligations.
During a market selloff in early February, the company force-liquidated reserves over a single weekend. The firm sold 4,451 BTC in those two days to reduce debt, per prior disclosures. That sale represented roughly 60% of its holdings at the time, as Bitcoin prices fell.
As of February 28, the company held 3,313.4 BTC on its balance sheet following the sales. The remaining reserves reflect what was left after the weekend liquidation and monthly production. Sustained margin pressure could lead to further reserve management decisions in the months ahead.
The broader mining sector continues to face strain as hashprice remains below $40/PH/s. The firm’s hosting cost exposure and forced reserve sales reflect the severity of current conditions.
Addressing fleet economics through relocation and contract renegotiation will determine the path to recovery.
