Canaan (CAN) has secured an additional order from Tether for custom bitcoin mining hardware, expanding the collaboration beyond previous research and development efforts that tested novel large-scale mining system designs.
Under the novel order, Canaan will supply high-density mixing plate modules designed for immersion-cooled systems, with planned utilize at a Tether connected facility in South America, the cryptocurrency mining technology maker announced on Tuesday.
Canaan is providing these systems to deepen its role as a supplier of custom equipment to large-scale operators like Tether. The agreement follows a 2025 research and development partnership with ACME Swisstech that has resulted in a proof-of-concept platform that improves the efficiency and scalability of mining operations.
Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin (USDT), is also developing its own dashboards and management software, signaling a move toward tighter integration of hardware and software across its mining operations.
The agreement includes the option for additional purchases, giving Tether the flexibility to scale its infrastructure if the novel system design performs as expected. This is seen as a potential step towards more personalized data center-style Bitcoin (BTC) mining.
Canaan Inc. is a Singapore-based technology company focused on ASIC microprocessors and bitcoin mining hardware. It has 1,808 BTC on its balance sheet worth approximately $137 million, which is the highest level of Bitcoin retained to date.
Canaan’s Bitcoin holdings over time. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET
Related: Cryptocurrency miner Canaan loses 7% despite its strongest quarter in 3 years
Tether increases focus on mining as the industry turns to artificial intelligence infrastructure
The announcement came a day after Tether said it was expanding its Bitcoin mining infrastructure by releasing an open-source platform that allows operators to manage mining hardware and software through a single system.
BTC miners are in the midst of a broad industry shift that has seen several established miners, including HIVE Digital, TeraWulf and MARA Holdings, diversify into data centers and artificial intelligence workloads to offset pressure on mining revenues.
Analysts at Bernstein recently said that IREN may eventually phase out most of its mining operations to focus on AI cloud infrastructure, citing the challenging operating environment for Bitcoin miners.
AI-based cloud services are expected to become IREN’s main source of revenue in the coming years. Source: Bernstein
Canaan’s Nasdaq-listed shares fell about 1% in airy trading on Tuesday. CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF (WGMI) fell about 5.7%. Exchange-traded funds that track the industry farms include CAN shares weighing less than 0.6%.
Related: The difficulty of mining Bitcoin is degenerating but is expected to boost in the next correction
