Bitcoin Miners Move to Defend Exchange Listings as Sub-$1 Shares Persist

Several publicly traded bitcoin mining companies are taking steps to address depressed share prices, as prolonged trading below $1 threatens exchange compliance.

Cango (NYSE: CANG) and American Bitcoin (NASDAQ: ABTC) have both moved toward reverse stock splits, a common tactic used by listed companies to lift their per-share prices without changing their underlying market value. Canaan (NASDAQ: CAN), meanwhile, said its chairman and CEO Nangeng Zhang as well as CFO Jin “James” Cheng recently purchased additional shares in the open market.

The developments highlight a lingering divide across the bitcoin mining sector. Larger mining companies with sizable power portfolios have drawn renewed investor attention as potential AI and high-performance computing infrastructure plays. But lower-priced operators leaning more on a bitcoin strategy remain under pressure from volatile mining economics.

Cango said Wednesday that shareholders approved a share consolidation at a ratio of as much as 10-to-1. The company said its board has not yet decided whether to proceed with the consolidation, or what final ratio and effective date it would use. If implemented at the maximum ratio, every 10 existing shares would be combined into one new share.

The shareholder approval follows a March notice from the NYSE that Cango was not in compliance with the exchange’s continued listing standard because its Class A ordinary shares had averaged less than $1 over a 30-trading-day period. Under NYSE rules, Cango has a six-month cure period from March 10 to regain compliance.

American Bitcoin is taking a more definitive step on its capital structure, though it has not disclosed receiving a Nasdaq minimum bid deficiency notice.

The company said shareholders approved a reverse stock split at a ratio within a range of 1-for-5 to 1-for-40 at its annual meeting on June 22. After the meeting, the board approved a 1-for-15 reverse split and said it expects to carry it out as soon as practicable. A 1-for-15 reverse split would reduce the number of outstanding shares by combining every 15 existing shares into one new share. In theory, the stock price would rise by the same multiple at the time of the split, although the company’s market value would not change solely because of the transaction.

As of the June 24 close, American Bitcoin had closed below $1 for 15 consecutive trading days. The streak appears to have started on June 3, when the stock closed at 93 cents, after closing at exactly $1 on June 2. Nasdaq’s minimum bid rule is generally triggered after a company’s shares close below $1 for 30 consecutive business days, meaning American Bitcoin was roughly halfway to that threshold as of Wednesday’s close.

American Bitcoin’s filings said its board may consider factors including compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements when deciding whether to implement the reverse split. That language does not mean the company has already received a delisting warning. Rather, the move appears to give the board flexibility to lift the headline share price and avoid or address listing-related pressure.

Canaan, on the other hand, has not announced any stock split plan. Instead, the company said Zhang and Cheng bought a combined 1.065 million American depositary shares at an average price of 35 cents per ADS. The purchase amount implies a total open-market investment of about $372,750.

The insider purchases come as Canaan’s ADSs continue to trade below Nasdaq’s $1 minimum bid requirement. Canaan said in January it received a notice from Nasdaq after its ADSs closed below $1 for 30 consecutive business days. The company was granted a 180-day compliance period through July 13 to regain compliance.

Canaan said at the time that the Nasdaq notice had no immediate effect on its listing or trading. If the company does not regain compliance by the July deadline, it may be eligible for additional time, subject to Nasdaq staff review and other listing requirements. Canaan said in January that it could consider a reverse stock split if necessary during a second compliance period.