Cango Inc., a publicly traded Bitcoin mining company, lowered its average production cost per Bitcoin by 19.3% in March, bringing it down to $68,216 from $84,552 recorded in the fourth quarter of last year. The company achieved this reduction not through expanding its operations but through targeted fleet optimization. This included decommissioning older mining hardware and moving operations to regions where electricity costs are lower.
As part of its financial restructuring, Cango sold 2,000 Bitcoin during March, a quantity currently valued at approximately $143 million. The proceeds were used to retire crypto-backed debt, reducing the company’s outstanding loan balances to $30.6 million. This deleveraging effort represents a deliberate effort to strengthen the firm’s balance sheet rather than pursue aggressive capacity growth.
At the close of March 31, Cango held 1,025.69 BTC in its treasury, valued at over $73 million at the time of reporting. The company’s total hash rate stood at 37.01 EH/s, divided between 27.98 EH/s from self-mining operations and 9.02 EH/s sourced through leasing arrangements. In locations where hosting costs were elevated, Cango deployed hash rate leasing models to sustain revenue without absorbing the full burden of operational expenses.
Looking ahead, Cango has indicated plans to redirect capital freed up through its debt reduction toward AI computing infrastructure. The company views this move as a natural extension of its existing investments in power capacity and physical facilities. According to the company’s announcement, the cost efficiencies achieved in mining are intended to serve as a foundation for this broader business model expansion.
Cango’s strategic pivot reflects a wider trend among publicly listed Bitcoin miners navigating compressed profit margins and ongoing market volatility. Rather than focusing exclusively on increasing hash rate, a growing number of mining firms are scrutinizing unit economics and exploring alternative revenue streams. Several companies in the sector have begun directing resources toward powering AI computing workloads, in some cases moving away from their original mining-focused business models.
MARA recently sold $1.1 billion worth of Bitcoin to repurchase convertible debt and cut 15% of its workforce. Core Scientific has explored selling its entire Bitcoin holdings to fund its own transition into AI infrastructure, while Cipher Digital pivoted toward data center operations through a 15-year infrastructure agreement. These moves collectively signal a significant evolution in how public mining companies define their core business.
Cango shares, trading under the ticker CANG, closed up 3.3% on Wednesday at $0.4291, buoyed in part by a broadly positive day for equities following a conditional ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Despite the single-day gain, the stock has declined nearly 39% over the past month, underscoring the challenges facing the company even as it pursues operational improvements.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
