A newly released report points out that the evaluation system of the Bitcoin mining industry is undergoing a dramatic shift. Pure "hashrate scale" is no longer the sole determinant of market value. Capital markets are now seeking two types of companies: giants like Core Scientific that have successfully transitioned to AI, and miners like CleanSpark that relentlessly pursue efficiency. Beyond these prominent leaders, Cango (CANG.US) represents a third, atypical survival model.
In terms of hashrate acquisition cost (CAPEX), Cango has not blindly chased after new, highly-premium machines. The report specifically highlights that Cango rapidly entered the industry's top tier by acquiring second-hand, operational miners, securing hashrate at an extremely low cost (approximately $8/TH), building a natural safety cushion compared to peers. It is crucial to emphasize that Cango does not stick with old machines indefinitely but employs a "Refresh" strategy for dynamic equipment upgrades, such as paying only the price difference to upgrade 6 EH/s of hashrate to S21 models in Q4 2025.
Operationally, during July-August 2025, Cango's miner online rate improved significantly, with equipment operational efficiency reaching industry-leading levels. The company's cost to mine a single Bitcoin is controlled at approximately $98,000, significantly lower than the market price, demonstrating excellent cost management capabilities. The high cost-performance ratio per unit of hashrate is a core advantage for Cango. In the current fiercely competitive environment, Cango's unique "light-asset" model provides greater resilience against risks.
As mining rewards halve, AI has become a crucial battleground for mining companies. Report data shows that companies with clear AI/HPC revenue have significantly outperformed pure-play miners in stock price. However, on this track, Cango has chosen a distinctly different entry point from the giants. From a business model perspective, Cango avoids the red ocean of building "airports" (large-scale data centers) and instead focuses on the long tail of "AI inference."
Through low-cost, ultra-fast AI retrofitting, it transforms scattered mining facilities worldwide into decentralized AI nodes. This is akin to building a dense network of "same-city forward warehouses" or an "express delivery network." Compared to the "heavy infrastructure" approach of building large data centers, Cango has chosen the "last-mile logistics" path, profiting from high-frequency turnover and flexibility. On the eve of an explosion in AI inference demand, Cango's "express delivery" model, capable of quickly responding to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, has seized the initiative in terms of "speed" and "breadth."
If fundamentals determine the long-term floor, then deviations in market perception determine short-term explosive potential. The institutional ownership data disclosed in the report reveals a startling contrast: despite its hashrate scale ranking among the global top five (50 EH/s), Cango has only 35 institutional holders. This means the vast majority of institutional capital has not yet covered this company.
Such extreme information asymmetry is often the source of excess returns. As Cango begins to disclose its AI business, or as the value of its Bitcoin holdings is re-evaluated, even a small influx of institutional capital starting to "fill the gap" could have a massive marginal impact on the pricing of such a low-liquidity, undervalued stock.
From a valuation logic perspective, the market currently prices other giants with a high "expectation premium." Cango's market capitalization is even lower than its book "hard assets" (BTC holdings + miners + cash - debt). This implies that the market has not assigned any positive valuation to Cango's 50 EH/s of hashrate or its Tier 2 AI transformation. For investors, as a high-potential-return asset with a solid asset floor below and an AI transformation option above, Cango clearly offers an highly attractive entry point under the current pricing system.
Comments